Clinical Dietician

## Description

**Primary Purpose**: Plan and implement nutrition-based education for inpatients, outpatient, community, and staff. Assists the Diabetes Self-Management Education Manager with implementing diabetes education program (focused primarily on nutrition education) to inpatients, outpatients, community, and staff.

**Formal Policy-Setting Responsibilities**: Formally responsible for making recommendations regarding policies associated with the job’s purpose and essential responsibilities.

**Routine Decision Making**: Reviewing patient nutritional status and labs to base nutrition support or diet needs. Assess patient needs relating to learning barriers, readiness to learn. Interpret diet orders for patients.

**Formal Supervisory Responsibilities**: No formal supervisory responsibilities.

**Unusual Working Conditions**: None

**Age Specific Competencies**: adults’ patient between 18 to 64 years, and geriatric patients 65 years and older.

**ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS**

**Provides diabetes self-management education to inpatients and outpatients. (50% of time)**

• Assists with ensuring ADA accreditation.
• Provides appointments for patients within 3 days of order or when able to contact patient.
• Complete documentation of each clinic visits at the time of each visit.

**Provides nutrition education to outpatients and inpatients according to doctor’s orders. (10% of time)**

• Clarifies orders with physician and investigate for any special history or learning needs prior to visit.
• Provides appropriate nutrition education and feedback to physician after the patient’s first visit for any noted concerns.
• Notifies physician after each visit with a written report on difficulties the patient is encountering regarding the diet.

**Conducts nutritional assessments concerning inpatients regarding nutrition support and poor overall nutrition and body weight, particularly regarding wound healing. Formulates nutrition care plans for swing-bed patients. (10% of time)**

• Reviews information obtained by dietary manager’s nutritional screening during next scheduled day on duty.
• Notifies physician immediately of any abnormal findings, areas of nutritional risk.
• Attends case management meeting five times per week.
• Completes nutritional assessment on behavioral health unit and discusses concerns with the physician/nursing staff regarding high-risk patients at case management meetings
• Provides nutritional guidance to patients daily when ordered by physician and/or nursing.
• Provides suggested therapeutic dietary interventions to physicians of patients who are at nutritional risk as requested.

**Plans and implements nutrition ~~a~~ssessments and education to oncology patients. Conducts individual appointments. (7% of time).**

• Upon request of physician orders assesses patient and provides nutrition recommendations.
• Follow-up with patient on a weekly basis or sooner if needed.
• Notifies physician of patients who are at nutritional risk.
• Provides nutritional support recommendations when requested by physician.

**Assists DSME, Cardiac Rehab Manager, Education Team and Community Health Improvement Coordinator with planning of group meetings, and provides nutritional presentations to community groups. (10% of time)**

• Submits articles and/or tips concerning nutrition to the Cass Regional Medical Center Facebook page when requested.
• Assists quarterly in community diabetic education presentation.
• As needed, will assist in planning and with teaching of community programs per year.

**Conducts monthly dietary in-services and assists with questions. Provide consultative support to the Dietary Manager. (5% of time)**

• Provides an education needs assessment to dietary staff.
• Completes in-service for dietary staff based upon assessed needs annually.
• Gives guidance and direction to dietary supervisor when requested.

**Monitors and evaluates process for Dietary and nutrition educational performance improvement. (5% of time)**

• As needed collects quality monitoring data, analyzes, interprets and reports quality monitoring data quarterly.

**Assist wound clinic in Nutritional Assessment of outpatients. (5% of time)**

• Reviews information obtained from patient chart and labs.
• Assesses nutritional risk and specific nutritional needs of each patient.
• Provides suggested therapeutic dietary and supplement interventions to physicians to aid in wound healing.

**Assists general surgery in Nutritional Care of bariatric inpatients and outpatients. (5% of time)**

• Performs pre-operative nutritional assessment and education.
• Counsels’ post-op patients to ensure dietary compliance and nutritional adequacy.
• Assesses and recommends dietary regimen changes based on diet tolerance, weight changes, laboratory values and clinical parameters.
• Completes all necessary documentation and communicates nutrition care plan with physician.

**Other duties as directed. (3% of time)**

## Qualifications

**Education and Certification/Registration Required for the Position:**Four-year college education; Registered Dietitian. State licensure. CDCES preferred.

**Required Knowledge**: Knowledge of disease states, food preparation, patient needs and rights, counseling patients, nutrition requirements for various ages.

**Required Skills and Abilities**: Ability to communicate, in an appropriate manner orally and written to staff, patients, and physicians. Calculate dietary intake utilizing calculators, computer, and calipers.