Dietitian - Inpatient

American Addiction Centers

6d • $31 - $46 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Clinical Dietitian provides ongoing Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) care for the entire hospital inpatient census. This involves screening, prioritizing, assessing, and recommending interventions. The role requires adapting daily workflow to accommodate fluctuations in patient load and developing and implementing a plan of care based on expert assessment of life cycle- and diagnosis-specific nutritional needs. This includes reviewing medical history, laboratory data, patient interviews, and physical examinations. The dietitian will document MNT plans in the electronic medical record to support clinical documentation and coding standards for reimbursement. They will also prescribe enteral and parenteral nutrition support, evaluate patient tolerance, and manage regimen orders, collaborating with physicians and pharmacy. Communication with the system-level Pharmacy Integrated Clinical Services (PICS) team for Total Parental Nutrition (TPN) infusions is crucial. The role involves prescribing therapeutic diets, oral nutrition supplements, and managing related orders. Collaboration with Food and Nutrition patient services ensures patient intake aligns with nutrition prescriptions and interdisciplinary plans. The dietitian will also partner with site patient services to identify formula and supplement substitutions during supply chain disruptions and ensure diet restrictions, allergies, and preferences are met. Developing patient-specific menus for complex dietary needs is also a responsibility. The role includes leading efforts to identify, treat, and prevent malnutrition, performing Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations, and providing education to patients and medical teams. Documentation for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nutrition Electronic Quality Indicators and participation in Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QAPI) efforts are required. Identifying and documenting billable nutrition diagnoses and potentially providing clinical support to outpatient programs are also part of the role. The dietitian will precept dietetic graduate students, medical residents, and provide nutrition lectures. Collaboration with discharge planners, home health, physicians, pharmacy, and other interdisciplinary teams is essential for coordinating patient care and transitions. Providing medical nutrition therapy education to patients, families, and teammates is also a key responsibility. Finally, the dietitian will provide clinical input into system clinical nutrition initiatives, practice changes, and deploy system changes related to various platforms and protocols. They will also liaise between clinical nutrition and inpatient nursing/physicians to champion initiatives and may provide coverage to other sites as needed.

Requirements

• Dietitian certification issued by the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR)
• Dietitian (RD) registration with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Licensure by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IL only)
• Certification by the Department of Safety and Professional Services (WI only)
• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree (if CDR registration eligibility is obtained prior to January 1, 2024) or Minimum of Graduate Degree (master’s, practice doctorate, or doctoral) (if initial CDR registration is obtained on or after January 1, 2024)
• Successful completion of Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited supervised practice program.
• Didactic experience in clinical nutrition from an ACEND approved program.
• Advanced knowledge in clinical nutrition and Nutrition Focused Physical Exams
• Ability to respond to the needs of a diverse patient population.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organization, decision-making, time management, and problem-solving skills
• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, lift, squat, bend, reach above shoulders and twist frequently during the work shift.
• Will occasionally be required to lift 25 pounds.
• Must have functional vision, hearing, speech, and touch.
• May need to travel between work sites; therefore, may have exposure to weather-related hazards.
• May need to work remotely and assist other sites as needed.
• Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job.
• Exposed to a normal office environment.

Responsibilities

• Provides ongoing Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) care for the entire hospital inpatient census through screening, prioritizing, assessing, and recommending interventions.
• Develops and implements a plan of care for patients based on an expert assessment of life cycle- and diagnosis-specific nutritional needs.
• Prescribes enteral and parenteral nutrition support orders by assessing the patient and calculating macronutrients and/or micronutrients, fluid, and electrolytes.
• Evaluates patient tolerance and effectiveness of formulas and manages initiation or modifications to enteral/parenteral regimen orders.
• Prescribes orders for therapeutic diets, oral nutrition supplements, and nutrition support regimens, including vitamins/minerals, fluid management, and lab work as indicated within the scope of the Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) protocol.
• Collaborates with Food and Nutrition patient services team to ensure patient intake aligns with nutrition prescription and interdisciplinary plan of care.
• Leads efforts to identify, treat and prevent malnutrition.
• Performs Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations of high-risk patients to evaluate the loss of specific muscles and subcutaneous body fat to determine the presence of and degree of malnutrition.
• Routinely documents elements of the Global Malnutrition Composite Score (GMCS) for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nutrition Electronic Quality Indicators.
• Participates in Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QAPI) efforts to ensure nutrition care is safe and effective for patients.
• Identifies and documents billable nutrition diagnosis with supporting documentation.
• May provide clinical support to various hospital-based outpatient medical destination programs.
• Supports partnerships with local didactic programs by precepting dietetic graduate students in clinical nutrition and/or foodservice management.
• Precepts medical residents and provides nutrition orientation as applicable.
• Provides nutrition lectures to medical residents for internal medicine, trauma, NICU/Peds, and family practice, as applicable.
• Collaborates routinely with discharge planners, home health, physicians, pharmacy, and other interdisciplinary teams to address the full scope of the system-established priority points protocol for inpatient care.
• Participates in interdisciplinary team rounds, meetings, and care conferences to coordinate and collaborate on nutrition goals.
• Assists with transition to home or outside facilities by partnering with Care Management and/or Home Health to coordinate home enteral and/or parenteral nutrition needs.
• Provides medical nutrition therapy education to patients on prescribed diet, per established priority system, to improve patient knowledge/understanding of nutrition, diet therapy and compliance on prescribed diet.
• Provides clinical input into system clinical nutrition initiatives and practice changes.
• Assists (via in-person or remote coverage) other sites throughout the State, as needed, to provide clinical nutrition coverage to assure equitable patient care.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Generous retirement offerings
• Programs that invest in your career development
• Paid Time Off programs
• Health and welfare benefits such as medical, dental, vision, life, and Short- and Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses
• Family benefits such as adoption assistance and paid parental leave
• Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs
• Educational Assistance Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Mid Level