Lansing Dietetic Association
RD on the Job
Anne Murphy, RD, PhD by Laura Campbell, dietetic student, Michigan State University
Anne Murphy is my boss and definitely one of my role models, so I thought it would be fun to interview her and write about her career. She is a wonderful person and has a wide variety of knowledge in the field of dietetics.
Anne is the owner and consultant of Healthy Kids Evaluation Services. She received her undergraduate degree in education from the University of Michigan, her Master of Science degree in food science and human nutrition from Wayne State University and her PhD from Michigan State University.
Anne’s dietetic internship focused on nutrition education and included her graduate assistant experience at Michigan State University Extension where she trained extension staff in counties, developed curriculums and managed projects.
The following is my interview with Anne Murphy.
Laura: What first interested you in obtaining a major in dietetics?
Anne: Actually, it was the nutrition major that interested me since my career goal was to teach at the university level. During my master’s program at Wayne State University, my major professor felt that obtaining registered dietitian credentials would help me obtain a teaching/research position at universities with a dietetics major. So, I followed his advice.
Laura: What was your most interesting class and how does it pertain to a career in dietetics?
Anne: I took a history of food class in my master’s program and that was really interesting. During my PhD training, I really liked the research methods classes. As far as my favorite class to teach, it was definitely Introduction to Nutrition (150).
Laura: What has been your favorite part of your career and why?
Anne: Working with wonderful people who are committed to the health of children. Also, as a grant writer I have brought more than nine million dollars into our state for child health initiatives. I feel that has made a difference.
Laura: What is your current job/position and how do you think you are helping your community with your knowledge of dietetics
Anne: Currently, I’m self-employed as an evaluation consultant. My major tasks are writing grants and doing the evaluation component of the grant projects. This involves developing evaluation instruments, testing them in the field to make sure they are understandable to children, doing the data collection, and the analyzing the data to determine the value of the project.
My “community in schools” projects have resulted in more opportunities for healthy eating such as healthy vending, healthy choices on a’la carte lines, working with teachers to help them understand the importance of not offering food as rewards and being good role models for health (not drinking pop in front of students), and starting breakfast-in-the-classroom programs. My work has also resulted in more physical activity opportunities for students such as walking clubs, physical activity in the classroom, and nutrition lessons incorporated into PE classes.
Laura: What advice would you give dietitians or students obtaining a degree in dietetics?
Anne: I would suggest finding the part of dietetics they are passionate about—that will lead to a successful and rewarding career. I would also suggest taking business classes like marketing since business skills are needed in every career. I am passionate about evaluation and writing reports and since this is the part most people hate about their job, it has led to a successful career for me.
As a student member of the Lansing Dietetic Association, Laura Campbell participated in LDA’s Student Volunteer Program and wrote this article to garner volunteer hours and experience.
