Meet Cathie Ostrowski of Raleigh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathie Ostrowski.

Hi Cathie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I decided to become a Registered Dietitian after my father died when I was 14. He had heart disease, and I realized that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and that people don’t have to go through the pain of losing a loved one from heart disease. So, when I was 18, I applied to D’Youville University in Buffalo, NY, and was accepted into their inaugural class of Dietetics. My education was a combined and accelerated BS/MS/internship spanning five years. I graduated in 1994. My first job was as a clinical dietitian at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, NY. Then, I moved to Rochester, NY, a few years later to work as a clinical and research dietitian at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital. We grew weary of living in the north, so after 27 years in NY, we moved to Apex, NC, in 1997. In 1998, I began working as a clinical dietitian at Duke Regional Hospital, and I still work there today as a per diem Dietitian. While working as a clinical dietitian, I built a private practice in nutrition. I owned my private practice from 1998-2014. We saw many patients for weight loss, cholesterol control, hypertension, bariatric nutrition, healthy eating, etc. We took some of our patients on week-long wellness retreats. In 2014, I sold my private practice to focus on educating nutrition students at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. I started at Meredith College as an adjunct professor in 2000. My position has grown through the years to a Dietetic Internship Director. I arrange supervised practice/internship experiences for dietetic interns. I’ve held this position for 21 years. After my children went to college, I decided to add on another dream of mine: to earn my doctorate in nutrition. So, in 2023, I enrolled in a doctorate program in clinical nutrition through the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). I continue to work full-time and attend doctorate school part-time, so I’ll finish my doctorate in 2027.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The death of my father when I was teenager really shook up my entire world. Being the youngest of nine children, I spent the least amount of time with him. I had to work through that before I entered college.

Another challenge was when I moved to Raleigh. At the time, the job market for Dietitians was quite tight. It took me over six months to get a position as a dietitian.

One of the challenges is the changing education for dietitians. You now must have a master’s degree in order to become a dietitian, so changing nutrition curriculum and internship experiences has been a long process.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. I specialize in working with people. Whether it is counseling a client on weight loss or health or helping a student reach their potential, I deeply appreciate where people are and helping them get where they’d like to be!

What are you most proud of? I am proud of our Nutrition Simulation Lab. We have worked very hard to build a simulation lab where we can educate students in a safe and supportive space that mimics the real world. Combining simulation and case studies gives students a well-rounded experience before working with people.

What sets you apart from others? I work hard, very hard. I take on a lot of responsibility for my students and work to provide them with a strong educational foundation so they can reach their career goals as registered dietitians.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When I set my mind to something, I’ll take a risk. So, I am not a “usual” risk-taker. However, when I wrote a budget and request for our Simulation Lab, I met with the right people on campus and was granted the funds to build the simulation lab in less than a year!

When I decided to attend doctorate school, I immediately applied to two schools and began taking classes in less than a month!