Dietitian (Clinical)

Department of Veterans Affairs•Providence, RI

52d•Onsite

About The Position

The Dietitian (Clinical) role is within the Clinical Section of Nutrition and Food Services. They perform increasingly complex tasks as they acquire skills in clinical nutrition to apply evidenced-based nutrition practice guidelines. Clinical Dietitians coordinate nutritional care of Veterans with other health care providers, the Veteran, the Veteran's caregiver and the community. Clinical Dietitians learn to interpret research, apply whole health principles and develop patient centered goals. General Description of Assigned Duties: The employees in this assignment serve in a Dietitian (Clinical) role within the Clinical Section of Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) serving as the medical nutrition expert. They are autonomous in their work in applying evidenced-based nutrition practice guidelines for all patients, including those with complex medical and nutritional needs. Clinical Dietitians coordinate nutritional care of Veterans with other health care providers, the Veteran, the Veteran's caregiver, and the community. They interpret research and utilize whole health principles to develop patient-centered goals and improve outcomes. Clinical Dietitians collaborate with the Food Operations Section to enhance the Veterans' dining experience and ensure patient satisfaction.

Responsibilities

Conducts comprehensive nutrition assessments using the Nutritional Care Process (NCP), including nutrition focused physical examinations, to establish a nutrition diagnosis and determine risk and/or degree of malnutrition.
Develops and implements Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) to address the nutrition diagnosis, evaluates and monitors the effectiveness and outcomes of MNT interventions. Modifies the plan as needed to achieve positive patient outcomes.
Calculates nutrient requirements and necessary diet restrictions or food and drug interactions tailoring the diet prescription to each individual patient.
Documents MNT in the medical record using the Assessment, Diagnosis, Intervention, Monitoring, Evaluation (ADIME) format.
Functions independently and accurately when record keeping.
Identifies patients in need of nutritional support and recommends the appropriate mode of support and communicates appropriately with the health care team.
Actively participates in formal and informal interdisciplinary team meetings.
Assesses educational needs and provides nutrition education/counseling for individuals and groups that is tailored to the Veteran(s).
Utilizes virtual care technology to improve access to care.
Maintains productivity standards.
Maintains accurate record keeping of daily clinical activities and completes patient encounters using approved systems.
Manages clinic grids to maximize access to nutrition services. Ensures both virtual and face-to-face modalities of are available to meet the needs of patients.
Participates in service-level strategic planning and implementation of new initiatives, policies, procedures, and goals.
Supports service-level performance improvement activities to include development of measures, data collection, data evaluation, and initiation corrective actions.
Complies with The Joint Commission requirements and other accrediting agency standards to ensure safe and quality patient care.
May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment.