Dietician - Dietetics

Job Description

*General Description of the Job Class

• Coordinate all phases of nutrition care including

1. Nutrition assessment
2. Nutrition care planning
3. Nutrition monitoring
4. Nutrition education and counseling of hospitalized patients

• Perform duties in support of and in compliance with performance improvement plans, JCI, and other licensing, accrediting, and regulatory agencies.
• Provide nutrition services and medical nutrition therapy integrated with the patients medical goals independently.
• Evaluate, interpret, monitor and document the nutritional status and nutritional needs of hospitalized patients using established standards of care and practice guidelines.
• Identify and provide age-specific nutrition counseling to meet the cultural needs of the patients and their families.
• Suggest orders for diet, supplement, enteral/parenteral nutrition per hospital policy.
• Function as an integral member of the clinical interdisciplinary team.
• Precept dietetic interns and provide on the job training for new entrants.
• Contribute to develop, review, update and implement educational materials to meet the needs of patients and professionals.
• Supervise daily work of Clinical Dietitian Associate; provide input into evaluation but doesnt directly evaluate their performance.
• Continuing professional education & update on nutrition information relevant to current practice theory (eg. Guidelines for nutrition care).
• Coordinate with Food Services team to ensure proper dietary service to the patients.
• Other job-related tasks as assigned by superiors.

Clinical Assessment

• Conducts assessment via a review of patient record, patient and caregiver interview, physical assessment, review of objective data (weight, height, weight history, biochemical data, etc.).
• Utilizes problem-solving skills to determine most appropriate NCP.
• Consults with health care team to obtain relevant information.
• Uses information obtained to formulate an appropriate nutrition plan which includes recommendations for calories, macro and micronutrients and fluid, therapeutic diet/supplement recommendations, and education.

Formulation of a Nutrition Care Plan

• Formulates a nutrition care plan (NCP) based on a clinical assessment and evidenced based practice. The NCP includes therapeutic diets, nutrition support, oral nutrition supplements, modified textures and the monitoring and evaluation of such plan.
• Ensure to discuss the plan with the patient and/or caregivers and the interprofessional team.
• Supervises the customization of therapeutic diet orders to meet patient requirements and preferences and to optimize intake through the use of supplements.

Monitoring and Implementing a Nutrition Care Plan

• Review and interpret oral intake of therapeutic diet, delivery of enteral feeding and IV nutrition, biochemical data, physical assessment by using patient chart, interviewing patient and caregiver, and consulting interprofessional team, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the NCP.
• Inspect meals served for conformance to standards of palatability and appearance at random and accuracy of special diets as and when required.

Patient Education

• Provides patient focused, disease/condition specific nutrition education to patients and family members.
• Evaluate and develop strategies to overcome communication barriers including multicultural, literacy.

Documentation and Interprofessional Collaboration

• Documents nutrition assessment and NCP in patient medical record.
• Maintains patient confidentiality.
• Able to work effectively as a member of an interprofessional team.
• Communicates pertinent aspects of nutrition assessment and NCP to physicians and interprofessional team members at patient rounds.
• Advocates patient needs to inter professional team members and families of patient.

Continuing Professional Development

• Is committed to ongoing professional development in order to continue to provide optimal patient care.
• May be actively involved in the steps of research activities such as collecting data.

Quality Improvement

• Follows and keeps up to date on hospital and department policies and procedures
• Trains Clinical Dietitian Associates and student interns as needed.
• Contributes to the updation of nutrition education materials as required.
• Is committed to, and participates in, ongoing quality improvement in the organization;
• Represents the department and profession in a positive progressive manner within the hospital and community.

Accountability

• Communicate relevant information to superiors & peers.
• Perform any job-related task as and when assigned by the superior.

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Keyskills :
on thetrainingmedical nutrition therapyproblem solvingenteral feedingwork effectivelyquality improvementnutrition educationeducational materials