Senior Registered Dietitian

Position Summary

This position provides leadership in specialty area of clinical nutrition, establishes practice standards and serves as a mentor to educate colleagues in the specialty nutrition area. This position manages a complex caseload of patients by providing comprehensive nutritional assessments and nutrition-focused physical exams, developing and managing all aspects of appropriate nutrition care plans, and monitoring outcomes of plans. Provides patient and family nutrition counseling and education.

Core Functions

• Provides comprehensive nutrition assessment of patients' nutritional needs, to include nutrition-focused physical exams as appropriate, with at least 50% of patient case load in designated specialty area.
• Obtains timely and appropriate data and analyzes/interprets data based on evidence-based standards and established practice guidelines.
• Demonstrates and maintains competency in enteral and parenteral clinical practice protocols and oral nutrition management standard of practice as demonstrated by successful completion of initial competency exams and ongoing evaluation.
• Writes orders to initiate and manage the nutrition care and of all assigned patients including those receiving nutrition support (parenteral and enteral nutrition) per protocols.
• Evaluates effectiveness of the care plan and communicates effectively to the other members of the healthcare team to provide optimal nutrition outcomes.
• Provides pertinent information in the medical records, patient plans of care and/or clinical pathways while meeting requirements of regulatory agencies (i.e. Joint Commission, CMS, State and Local Agencies).
• Provides nutrition education to patients, families, staff and other health care team professionals through the development of effective teaching materials and in-service programs; Evaluates patient and or family response to education.
• Serves as mentor to new staff and interns where assigned.
• Participates in and identifies continuous quality improvement activities in clinical areas to ensure optimal nutrition care outcomes are achieved; Participates in clinical nutrition Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities.
• Provides additional coordination of projects and programs.
• Demonstrates proficiency in area of practice; Responsible for developing training and educational materials to assist colleagues in developing skills in area of specialty and mentors staff members in area of specialty.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must possess knowledge of nutrition and dietetics demonstrated through the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, or equivalent coursework.
• Must be a Registered Dietitian based on academic and professional requirements as defined by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Must hold current registration through the Commission on Dietetic Registration of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and be able to maintain ongoing registration while providing verification of registration annually.
• Maintains current licensure as required by State law.
• Must possess a level of expertise typically achieved through three to five years clinical experience in a specialty area.
• Must be able to function independently and be effective at prioritizing assigned patient case load as well as the ability to lead and serve as a resource for issues.
• To be classified as a Senior Registered Dietitian, at least 50% of dietitian's case load must be in the specialty area. This requires documentation of certification and expertise in one of the following areas: International Board Certified Lactation Consultant; Certified Clinical Transplant Dietician (CCTD) from the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization; Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) from Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education; CNSC-Certified Nutrition Support Clinician; Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition (CSP); Board Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition (CSR); Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO); Board Certified Specialist in Gerontology Nutrition (CSG); Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD); Board Certified Specialist in Digestive Health (CSDH); Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Critical Care (CSPCC); Advanced Practitioner (RD-AP, RDN-AP); Nutrition Wound Care Certified. CNIS Certified Nutrition Injury Specialist-- attained through the successful completion of The Nutrition Injury-Specific Diagnostic Nutrition Residency--An Advanced Practice Approach to Diagnosing Nutritional Disorders. Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) administered by the Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists (CBNS); Board Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management (CSOWM).

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional related education and/or experience preferred.