Diet Clerk

UT Southwestern Medical Center • Dallas, TX

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Diet Clerk is responsible for processing diet orders and updating patient information in Nutrition Services Systems. This role involves explaining meal ordering procedures to patients, anticipating their needs, and responding appropriately. The Diet Clerk interacts positively with patients, family members, and nursing staff, communicates clearly to take patient orders, and assists with delivering trays as directed. They also manage complaints, process and distribute daily documents, handle telephone calls professionally, and promote teamwork and cultural diversity. The position ensures timely processing of late or missing trays, verifies patient ticket information, manages special patient needs, and troubleshoots computer problems. Additionally, the Diet Clerk complies with performance improvement plans, manages patient satisfaction surveys, and ensures adequate supplies for the diet office. This position is security-sensitive.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent

Nice To Haves

• Basic clerical and data entry experience
• Customer Services or call center experience

Responsibilities

• Process diet orders and update patient information in Nutrition Services Systems appropriately and in a timely manner.
• Explain procedures for ordering of meals to all patients, anticipate patient needs, and respond appropriately.
• Interact in a positive, professional manner with patients, family members, and/or nursing on a daily basis.
• Communicate clearly and professionally, whether verbally or in writing, to take patient orders, promoting both work efforts and problem resolution.
• Assist with delivering trays to patients as directed by Nutrition Leadership on duty to ensure patients are fed in a timely manner.
• Deliver cupcakes to patients, roll silverware for patients, pull birthday supplies for patients celebrating birthdays in hospital, and perform other misc. duties assigned in diet office.
• Effectively manage complaints and refer to supervisor as appropriate, verifying that issues have been resolved.
• Process, print, and distribute daily documents in a timely manner, including patient menus, nourishment labels, tray tickets, vouchers, patient reports, etc.
• Manage telephone calls promptly and professionally, utilizing telephone etiquette techniques.
• Promote, develop, and sustain teamwork, conducting self in a manner that is congruent with cultural diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
• Contribute towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.
• Process late and/or missing trays effectively and ensure tray line begins promptly.
• Verify accuracy of all patient ticket information prior to submission, including verifying 2 patient identifiers and ensuring diet in system shown is known to patient, supplement attached, etc.
• Make telephone calls to nursing units, as needed, for clarification of diet orders or requests.
• Manage special needs of patients, as indicated, including Rehab units, Behavioral Health Units, and other special units, potentially including in-person patient ordering due to patient's treatment/care program.
• Actively make telephone calls to patients to discuss menu options, food preferences, etc.
• Assist in trouble shooting of computer problems by calling Help Desk or Alerting Manager on Duty immediately upon discovery to prevent delayed patient care.
• Comply with the departmental performance improvement plan by managing patient satisfaction surveys.
• Ensure adequate supplies to maintain diet office running efficiently, by communicating ordering needs to Administrative Coordinator and/or Nutrition Leadership on duty.
• Other duties may be required which are reasonably related to the essential or marginal functions of the position.
• Other duties as assigned include but are not limited to actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the Hospital’s Nutritional obligations required by Nutrition Services with patient care.
• Such participation may require an alternate shift pattern assignment and/or location, including but not limited to emergency operation procedures.

Benefits

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED