NUTRITIONAL SERVICES - CLINICAL DIETITIAN

About the role

The Clinical Dietitian serves as the patient's nutrition advocate. He/she ensures that the patient’s nutritional needs are being met appropriately. The Clinical Dietitian provides nutrition consultation and education to patients as needed, determined by nutritional risk screening and/or referral by physician or other healthcare provider for nutrition-related problems. Represent the patient and/or Nutritional Services Department in meetings as the nutrition expert.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Ensure the patients’ nutritional needs are being met appropriately
• Interpret provider diet orders and modify diet according to diet patterns and patient preferences
• Evaluate appropriateness of diet order for diagnosis and recommend diet order changes as indicated
• Approve substitutions if patient is unable to eat the meal provided, in accordance with diet restrictions
• Complete daily calorie counts when ordered or initiated
• Compute nutritional value of recipes when necessary as assigned
• Evaluate and approve menus or recipes for patient menus as assigned
• The Clinical Dietitian provides nutrition consultation and education to patients as needed, determined by nutritional risk screening and/or referral by physicians or other healthcare providers for nutrition-related problems
• Utilize the electronic medical record (EMR) screen tool and provider referrals to identify patients to assess
• Perform nutrition focused physical exam on patients to determine risk and/or degree of malnutrition when indicated
• Apply the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) including nutrition assessment, determination of nutrition diagnosis, developing and implementing evidence-based nutrition interventions, and monitoring and evaluating the patients progress
• Complete a nutritional assessment on patients receiving/referred for tube feeding or parenteral nutrition. Make appropriate recommendations to provider and pharmacy that will meet the needs of the patient. Follow the patient’s progress throughout the patient’s use of nutrition support and/or duration of stay in facility
• Provide patient nutrition education as deemed appropriate through assessment process
• Document relevant, accurate, and timely information in the patient’s EMR in accordance with department policy and procedure

Qualifications

• Education/Certification: Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition with a one year internship or a Master’s Degree in Nutrition, Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) certified by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), and Licensed Dietitian (LD) licensure by the State of Idaho Board of Medicine
• Experience: One year hospital experience preferred