ALUMNAE SPOTLIGHT
Dena McDowell Healer, Mentor, Volunteer Providing compassionate patient care is what Dena McDowell does best. In 2004 she earned her Master of Science degree in dietetics from Mount Mary. Today she is a registered and clinical dietitian at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dena is recognized within the Cancer Center as an excellent clinician and an expert in her field. Dena partners with patients throughout their course of treatment, supporting their nutritional needs and giving patients and family members the attention they need. Dena demonstrates the lessons she learned as a student at Mount Mary. “My time at Mount Mary was a rewarding experience and I find myself frequently using the lessons I learned in my everyday practice,” she says. Dena has mentored other dietitians in the Cancer Center and helped students during clinical rotations. She is a nutrition mentor for the PanCan Association (National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness group), teaches a basic oncology class and works with the national Transmandibular Joint Disease Organization. Dena received the 2004 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year from the Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dena has shared her knowledge and expertise as a guest lecturer at Marquette University and University of WisconsinMilwaukee. She has written for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Savvy section, M Magazine, Women and Cancer Magazine and the Nutrition in Clinical Practice Journal. She also consults for TOPS Club (Take Pounds off Sensibly), a Milwaukee-based weight loss organization, writing articles and promoting healthy eating through Web-based tutorials.
degree is the beginning of a journey. Hers was a remarkable one, as she experienced firsthand the evolution of the OT profession. She recalls the OT practice of 45 years ago as being part clinician and part inventor, requiring clinicians to adapt what was at hand to create the tools needed. Today, product catalogs supply what, years ago, was born from an occupational therapist’s knowledge and creativity. Also in those early years, demonstrating the clinical value of OT to the medical field was commonplace, while today physicians regularly prescribe OT for their patients. In 2001, Rosemary was among OT professionals to bring new lymphedema treatments to the United States. She became an expert in this specialty and traveled nationwide to educate others. As she taught throughout the country, she championed the same traits that led to her long and successful career: creativity, openness to innovation, exploration of new areas and the pursuit of knowledge to gain expertise. Rosemary, who retired in September 2014, received the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association lifetime achievement award in 2013 — an echo to the outstanding OT student award she received as a senior at Mount Mary 46 years earlier. What fitting bookends to an impressive career that touched the lives of countless patients and students.
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