Clinical Dietitian

Merrimack Health•Lawrence, MA

18d

About The Position

The Clinical Dietitian is the primary resource for Medical Nutrition Therapy for inpatients as needed, working within a multidisciplinary health care team. The role provides nutritional assessment, care planning, recommendations, education, and follow-up for patients, while supporting appropriate meal service and patient satisfaction. It also includes providing nutrition education to hospital personnel and the community and contributing to evidence-based clinical practice and department resources.

Requirements

Registered Dietitian with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), or Registered Dietitian Eligible with CDR and able to pass the RD exam within 90 days of hire.
Dietitian/Nutritionist License from the Licensing Board of Dietitians & Nutritionists of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or eligibility to become licensed and obtain state licensure within 90 days of hire.

Nice To Haves

One or more years of experience with inpatient nutrition care activities.
Certification in a specialized area, such as Nutrition Support, Pediatrics, Renal, or Diabetes Education.
Postgraduate degree in a nutrition-related field.

Responsibilities

Monitor patients’ nutritional needs and identify those at high nutritional risk, making treatment recommendations based on nutritional indicators in the medical record.
Perform nutritional assessments using pre-established criteria and formulate age- and limitation-appropriate nutritional care plans; make recommendations to physicians and other health care team members.
Participate in multidisciplinary patient care rounds and collaborate with allied health professionals on patient care plans, including discharge planning.
Communicate relevant changes in patient conditions and treatment plans to nursing staff to support accuracy and continuity of care.
Communicate with physicians, patients and families, and ancillary departments about patient conditions and treatments, verbally and in writing.
Educate patients and families about modified or therapeutic diets, adapting education to their learning needs, barriers, preferred styles, and education levels; use translator services when indicated.
Develop, review, and revise patient education materials using current standards of acceptable practice.
Calculate enteral and parenteral nutrition recommendations and infant or baby formula recommendations when applicable, and communicate recommendations to physicians and health care team members.
Conduct Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations and document findings in the medical record.
Conduct activities to support patient satisfaction with meals and services.
Maintain current diet information and communicate appropriate information to diet office and kitchen staff to support daily meal and snack provision according to patient needs and preferences.
Interpret and adjust menus and complex diet information, and transcribe information for menu selection or computer input as needed.
Conduct patient rounds to assess satisfaction with the overall nutritional care experience and perform service recovery activities as needed.
Organize, develop, and teach community classes on a variety of nutrition topics.
Conduct educational sessions for physicians, nurses, students, and other allied health professionals.
Assist in training department employees on nutrition topics and contribute to the therapeutic accuracy of meals and patient satisfaction.
Participate in projects to update office resources and clinical practice using evidence-based criteria.