Clinical Dietitian (N) (H)- HYBRID

University of Miami•Miami, FL

21h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Clinical Dietitian at the University of Miami/UHealth department of Neurology promotes good dietary health and treats medical conditions by devising eating plans for patients based on the science of nutrition. This role involves formulating and executing programs and materials to educate people about nutrition, helping patients come to terms with their illnesses, making educational presentations, and writing patient progress reports. The Dietitian meets directly with patients to identify nutritional needs, identifies ways to improve patient care, and makes recommendations to appropriate staff. They also perform research, recommend ways to expand and improve nutrition programs, and evaluate the effects of meal plans, adjusting them as appropriate. The role requires staying updated with the latest developments in nutritional science, managing food purchases and budget, scheduling appointments, and responding to patient questions. Specifically, the Clinical Dietitian (RD) provides specialized medical nutrition therapy to patients with neurological conditions such as movement disorders, muscular dystrophy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This includes developing and implementing individualized nutrition care plans to optimize nutritional status, preserve functional ability, manage disease-related complications, and improve overall quality of life. The Dietitian collaborates closely with an interdisciplinary team in outpatient settings.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field required
Valid State of Florida Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN) license required
Refer to department description for applicable certification requirements
Minimum 1 year of relevant experience required
Learning Agility: Ability to learn new procedures, technologies, and protocols, and adapt to changing priorities and work demands.
Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with others and contribute to a team environment.
Technical Proficiency: Skilled in using office software, technology, and relevant computer applications.
Communication: Strong and clear written and verbal communication skills for interacting with colleagues and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Promotes good dietary health and treats medical conditions by devising eating plans for patients based on the science of nutrition.
Formulates and executes programs and materials to educate people about nutrition.
Helps people come to terms with their illnesses.
Makes educational presentations.
Writes patient progress reports.
Meets directly with patients to identify nutritional needs.
Identifies ways to improve care of patients and makes recommendations to appropriate staff.
Performs research and recommends ways to expand and improve nutrition programs.
Evaluates the effects of meal plans and changes the plans when appropriate.
Keeps up with the latest developments in nutritional science.
Buys foods and administers budget.
Schedules appointments and responds to patients’ questions or concerns.
Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets.
Provides specialized medical nutrition therapy to patients with neurological conditions including movement disorders, muscular dystrophy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Develops and implements individualized nutrition care plans to optimize nutritional status, preserve functional ability, manage disease-related complications, and improve overall quality of life.
Collaborates closely with the interdisciplinary team in outpatient settings.
Conduct thorough nutrition assessments including anthropometrics, biochemical data, swallowing status, gastrointestinal function, dietary intake analysis, and functional status.
Develop and implement individualized nutrition care plans for patients with: Dysphagia and aspiration risk, Unintentional weight loss or hypermetabolism (common in ALS), Constipation and GI motility disorders, Feeding fatigue and prolonged mealtimes, Protein-energy malnutrition.
Monitor tolerance and adequacy of oral, enteral, and tube feeding regimens.
Identify malnutrition risk, unintentional weight loss, sarcopenia, dehydration, and feeding difficulties.
Adjust macronutrient and micronutrient recommendations based on disease progression and metabolic changes.
Educate on protein distribution to optimize levodopa absorption (for Movement Disorders).
Address constipation and hydration strategies (for Movement Disorders).
Manage weight fluctuations due to tremors or dyskinesia (for Movement Disorders).
Monitor rapid weight loss and hypermetabolic needs (for ALS and MDA multidisciplinary clinics).
Counsel patients and families on PEG tube placement and enteral feeding (for ALS and MDA multidisciplinary clinics).
Recommend high-calorie, high-protein oral strategies early in disease progression (for ALS and MDA multidisciplinary clinics).
Provide guidance on texture modification in coordination with SLP (for ALS and MDA multidisciplinary clinics).
Prescribe and manage enteral feeding regimens.
Adjust feeding plans as disease progresses.
Collaborate on end-of-life nutrition decisions consistent with patient goals.
Work closely with multidisciplinary teams: neurologists, speech-language pathologists, respiratory therapist, physical and occupational therapists, nurses, and social workers.
Participate in multidisciplinary clinics.
Contribute to case conferences and care planning meetings.
Establish calories, protein, and fluid requirements based on clinical condition and disease progression.
Prescribe appropriate diet modifications (e.g., high-calorie/high-protein, texture-modified diets, enteral nutrition).
Design meal strategies to address fatigue, prolonged mealtimes, and impaired motor function.
Monitor tolerance and effectiveness of oral, supplemental, and enteral feeding regimens.
Adjust nutrition interventions as disease progress or clinical status changes.
Document assessments, nutrition diagnoses, interventions, and monitoring outcomes in the EMR and in the ALS Toolkit.