Second Year Dietetics : Subject Summary

Assalamualaikum,

I recently finished my sophomore year as an undergraduate student for Bachelor Science of Dietetics in UPM. By finished, I mean I got through my finals and even though the results are not out yet, it is safe to assume I made it, or rather, survived. Haha.

Since I wrote a post about the first year subjects, it is only fair to write one for my second year too. Besides, I have got comments asking me about the course or really, how to get accepted into the course on that post. I think this can give an insight as to what we actually learned throughout the 2 semesters (2016/2017) to any souls out there who are looking to get enrolled, or maybe any of my juniors who are interested in knowing what we, your seniors had been through ;)

First Semester

PKK 3202 or Nutrition and Metabolism. 

This one was a continuation of SBP 3201 Basic Medical Biochemistry which we learned when we were freshies. The difference is that this subject looked into more detailed descriptions on the things we learned during Biochem. If one did well for Biochem, this subject is not supposed to give him a hard time, but if one did not quite well for Biochem, then he need to step up his game. Basically, we learned about all the chemistry inside the body, for example how macronutrients are digested, which enzymes play important role, what are the steps, etc. I personally found this subject unbearable like most of the class, because I do not like Chemistry that much, which I have said in that other post. 

DTK 3200 Clinical Nutrition.

Let me be honest, I am not really interested in being a Clinical Dietitian, which is actually quite foolish because one cannot be a dietitian unless he/she works clinically. Anyway, this subject changed that, a bit. It was intriguing when you got to learn about the diseases more closely. How so? Well, you got to know about the causes, effects, how to prevent, risk factors. Depending on the lecturers, topics can get very interesting that you might want to know more. I particularly find Kidneys as very underrated. Meaning that, the functions are so vital to the body but not many take care of their kidneys well, and once you lose your kidneys, it would be a lifetime of suffering since you need to get dialysis frequently. 

DTK 3101 Experimental Foods.

For this one, we cook every week. We were to make a type of food in 2 different versions. One is an unmodified one, another one is modified. Modified how? Well, say you are cooking a curry which uses coconut milk; the one with coconut milk is unmodified, the other one which replace coconut milk with low fat milk is the modified one. Pretty simple. Then, number coded the curries, put them side by side on the table in the Sensory Room and let your fellow classmates evaluate them and fill scorecards before you analyse them and conclude with pros and cons of both dishes. Of course you can make any dish healthier, but can the quality be the same as the usual one? Yup, we basically experimented with food and presented the findings in front of the class before eating them all.

We took 2 obligatory university subjects for this semester, which were MGM 3180 Basic Entrepreneurship and SKP 2203 Islamic Civilization and Asian Civilization (TITAS). For MGM, we learned how to operate a business with an activity of forming a group of 10 to start a 'company' and sell products of our own to the community, namely the students. Unfortunately we were the first batch that was forbid from selling food products which are what students would actually buy since we do not have that many food choices in the college. We were to sell non-food products that we created by ourselves and gain profit. After very long discussions, we decided to sell body scrub, which was a fun idea but it was not easy to sell. It was a nightmare, and we could not wait to end this subject. Unbearable. If only we were allowed to sell food instead, I would have enjoyed this class.

TITAS was kind of like History. For me, I love History. One of my favourite subjects in school. The subject is light and only needed memorization. Besides, I got to go on a free trip to Thailand courtesy of the lecturer which was such a memorable trip. We visited Thai universities and historical landmarks, ate good foods, enjoyed mesmerizing views. It was great. Then as an assignment, we had to set up an exhibition about different civilizations at the foyer. My group did the Indian Civilization. So, I wore a punjabi suit, my Chinese group members wore sarees. We created a beautiful kolam, prepared Indian foods like murukku and capati. Other groups did the Western Civilization, Malay Civilization and China Civilization. Representatives from Thailand came to the exhibition.

I took LAX 2007 Vimag as my compulsory English subject of the semester which involved me and my group members doing discussions to finish 2 video magazines. Sort of like documentaries. It was a very bumpy ride because my group members were not that cooperative and I was mostly frustrated because of their lack of tolerance. Oh well, at least it is over now.

Second Semester

DTK 3205 Nutritional Immunology
Two words. Immune System. Antibodies, B cells, T cells, antigen, allergic reactions, autoimmune disease, etc. Basically all about the body's immune system. I do not know why most of my friends told me that the subject was a bore when I actually found it interesting and I rarely even zone out during the class. Very rarely. I managed to give undivided attention and all. Maybe that is just me.

PKK 3002 Biostatistics and Research Methodology in Nutrition
This is a very important subject as we are going to start doing our final year project in our junior year. SPSS is a very complicated software which will be very useful during the completion of any research. We learned how to use it in this course. We were also taught about the steps in conducting a research from the start to finish. As an assignment, we did a small research to get the big picture. I am still scarred by the questions during the finals. So. Freaking. Crazy. Hahah. Anyhow, any tech savvy would be at an advantage. Just saying, because I am definitely not one. 

DTK 3102 Institutional Foodservice Management 1
Okay. In this course, we learned about foodservice. A whole lot about it. Marketing, finance, management, equipment, menu, etc. All about how to manage a foodservice business. I think it was almost encouraging us to start our own businesses in the future and I am not objecting to that. I might. Some day.

PKK 3403 Nutrition and Health Promotion
One of the most challenging course this semester. We were taught about how to organize a health promotion while at the same time we were doing them. Planning (choosing models,strategies), implementing, evaluating. Why challenging? Because we had obstacles from outside sources so yeah, glad this one was over. Fuh. Oh and, sooo many presentations too.

DTK 3206 Medical Nutrition Therapy 1
The most challenging course in the second semester of our sophomore year. Mentally, emotionally and physically challenging if I may say. In this course, we studied the suitable menu planning for specific diseases. For example, diabetic diet, soft diet, high/low potassium diet, low sodium diet, high/low protein diet, etc. It was challenging because there were so many components to be settled in this course. We had cooking sessions for renal, paeds, diabetes, hypertension/cvd. We also need to finish assignments being thrown at us here and there. We had ward rounds and a log book to update after every ward round. Not to forget, Masterchef test which was disastrous because we were very nervous xD So yeah, not really looking forward to the second part of this course next semester.


PKK 3100 Food Society and Culture
In which we were taught about various culture and food habits. It was mainly about general knowledge regarding the topics related to the society as a whole. Eating disorders, food insecurity, intrahousehold resources, etc. We had two assignments for this course. The first one; Plan a program at a rehabilitation place. We did it at Anjung Singgah, a home where homeless live in. This was the first time we made a program consisting of only all 32 of us Dietista 11 as the organizer. To be honest, it was a chaos because us being us, everyone has strong personalities and when discussions were made, they always resulted in almost fighting situation. The second assignment; Present about a dish in front of the class and how is it significant to you. My group of 5 decided to make kuih ketayap. Needless to say, I did something embarassing while preparing the kuih and telling the significant story. Nope. Not going to tell what I did haha.

PKK 3302 Basic Epidemiology
Learned about diseases, the causes, statistics. The lecturer made this subject very intriguing at times because he was so liberal. Assignment almost every class in which we need to search about specific things and present them in class the next day. I usually do not managed to do this but I was always safe because he did not know me. He only ever called those who he remembered. The final exam was tough. I swear my head throbbed so badly after finishing the paper.

For the obligatory English subject, I took CEL 2106 Communication for Personal Development. Basically learnt about how to get jobs and scholarships. Write resumes, and motivation letters, did mock interviews. Not a fan of interviews, but did well anyway so alhamdulillah.


The second semester was very packed. We were always drowning in assignments, presentation, and exams. So, having finish it was such a blessing. But, now we need to start on our proposal for final year projects although it is supposed to be semester break. Wish us luck.

P.s. : I am very incline to write about the activities I joined during my sophomore year because there were many. I was so busy that I did not manage to make any records about them. Might write it in parts, we'll see ;) Stay tuned.