Patient Menu Assistant

University of Rochester•Rochester, NY

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Menu Assistant visits patients daily to help ensure they can order meals that meet their physician-ordered diets. The role works with department colleagues and multidisciplinary healthcare staff to collect meal selections, document preferences, and support meal production and delivery. It may involve patients from infancy through older adulthood. The position also includes screening patients for nutritional risk, assessing patients at moderate nutritional risk, and developing and implementing medical nutrition therapy. The assistant calculates ordered nutrient intakes, provides education about simple nutrition plans, plans meals for patients with complex needs or malnutrition, documents nutritional care, and collaborates with the healthcare team on appropriate nutrition regimes. Additional duties include supporting and training students, peers, and unit support staff. The role is part-time, with 20 scheduled weekly hours. Hours vary, and the schedule includes every other weekend and every other holiday. The position is located at 220 Hutchison Rd, Rochester, New York.

Requirements

High school diploma required.
Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Ability to perform the responsibilities of the role, including documenting patient nutritional care and communicating with patients and healthcare staff.

Nice To Haves

Associate’s degree in a related field preferred.
Experience in a healthcare setting preferred.

Responsibilities

Visit assigned units daily to obtain meal selections from each patient and provide exemplary customer service.
Enter patient meal selections and preferences in CBORD in compliance with physician-ordered diets.
Organize tray tickets to support efficient meal production and delivery.
Interact with multidisciplinary staff on patient units to gather input related to patient meals.
Communicate food quality and acceptance issues and trends to department management, and advise staff about tray adjustments for changed diet orders.
Screen patients to identify nutritional risk; assess patients at moderate nutritional risk and develop and implement medical nutrition therapy.
Calculate patients’ nutrient intakes as ordered by physicians.
Educate patients, families, and significant others about simple nutritional regimes, and arrange individual follow-up as needed.
Plan meals for difficult-to-manage and/or malnourished patients to help meet clinical nutrition goals.
Document all aspects of patients’ nutritional care in medical records.
Collaborate with the healthcare team to recommend the least restrictive acceptable nutrition regime based on the patient’s condition, communicating verbally or through the medical record.
Participate in precepting undergraduate dietetic students and training and coaching unit support staff regarding their food service role.
Participate in orienting and training peers.
Perform other duties as assigned.