Clinical Dietitian II

Responsibilities

• Affirms nutritional needs through standardized practice and critical thinking.
• Determines nutrient requirements based on age, disease, and individual needs for assigned patients.
• Serves as a resource for the clinical team and acts as a liaison between medical specialties and ancillary services.
• Achieves compliance with Joint Commission, CMS, HFAP, or other accrediting agency standards to enhance safety and quality of care.
• Attends medical rounds, patient care conferences, and continuing education/staff meetings.
• Participates in quality improvement initiatives and cross-training.
• Develops, implements, and monitors nutrition care plans and participates in discharge planning.
• Provides education using established behavioral change techniques.
• May lead, direct, and manage the work of others within the department.
• Documents all aspects of nutrition care in the medical record.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory agency standards as evidenced by timely completion of clinical nutrition workload.
• Updates evidence-based protocols in clinical practice and trains others.
• Identifies needs for professional development and mentors others in clinical practice.
• Trains clinical nutrition interns by acting as a preceptor.
• Engages in clinical research, on-the-job training, or QI projects relevant to clinical practice area.
• Serves on cross-functional quality teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from a US regionally accredited university or college with course work accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Master’s degree in related Dietitian field for new graduates becoming licensed after January 1, 2024.
• Completion of a Coordinated Program in Dietetics or Dietetic Internship accredited by ACEND (Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics) of no less than 900 hours (1200 hours for graduates of programs beginning 2012).
• Registered Dietitian (RD) by The Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR).
• Licensed as a Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN) by the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition.
• Three (3) years as an RD with two (2) of those years' experience in area of clinical specialty or three (3) years nutrition experience in a tertiary care, teaching hospital.
• Five (5) years of experience as an RD, or certification in a specialty area if less than five (5) years of experience.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of the Nutrition Care Process and ability to apply all steps of the process.
• Comprehensive knowledge and application of medical nutrition therapy.
• Understands and can implement Motivational Interviewing.
• Critical thinking to integrate facts, informed opinion, active listening, and observations.
• Decision making, problem solving, and collaboration.
• Effective communication in both written and verbal forms to patients, public, hospital, and medical staff, and physicians.
• Ability to function independently on assigned patient care units.
• Ability to counsel and educate others.
• General knowledge of nutrient analysis, word processing, and spreadsheet software.