Registered Food & Nutrition Dietitian - Transplant Services - FT Days

Advocate Health•Milwaukee, WI

3d•$31 - $46

About The Position

The Registered Food & Nutrition Dietitian serves as the primary nutrition provider for Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant (AHFT) candidates and recipients across inpatient and outpatient care settings. The role evaluates LVAD and heart transplant candidates, provides pre-, peri-, and post-transplant nutrition care, supports pre-habilitation, and provides heart failure nutrition therapy to non-transplant patients. The dietitian also provides cross-coverage for the abdominal transplant dietitian and participates in required transplant and heart failure meetings. The position provides ongoing medical nutrition therapy across the hospital inpatient census and may support hospital-based outpatient programs. The dietitian assesses nutritional status through medical record and laboratory review, patient interviews, and physical examinations; develops individualized nutrition care plans; documents care in the electronic medical record; and prescribes therapeutic diets, oral supplements, and enteral or parenteral nutrition support within the MNT protocol. The role collaborates with physicians, pharmacy, nursing, patient services, and other interdisciplinary teams to coordinate nutrition care, discharge transitions, and patient education. The dietitian leads efforts to identify, treat, and prevent malnutrition, conducts Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations, contributes to quality improvement and regulatory readiness, and supports evidence-based clinical nutrition initiatives. The role may also precept dietetic graduate students and medical residents, provide lectures and in-services, and assist other sites as needed. The position is full time, 40 hours per week, with a Monday-through-Friday schedule.

Requirements

Dietitian certification issued by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
Registered Dietitian (RD) registration with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Licensure by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation if working in Illinois, or certification by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services if working in Wisconsin.
Bachelor’s degree if CDR registration eligibility was obtained before January 1, 2024; otherwise, a graduate degree (master’s, practice doctorate, or doctoral degree) if initial CDR registration is obtained on or after January 1, 2024.
Successful completion of an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program.
Didactic experience in clinical nutrition from an ACEND-approved program.
Advanced knowledge of clinical nutrition and Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations.
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.
Ability to meet the physical requirements of the role, including frequent sitting, standing, walking, lifting, squatting, bending, reaching above the shoulders, and twisting; occasional lifting of 25 pounds; and functional vision, hearing, speech, and touch.

Responsibilities

Evaluate LVAD and heart transplant candidates in inpatient and outpatient settings, including nutrition assessment, Nutrition Focused Physical Examination, and malnutrition diagnosis when criteria are met.
Develop individualized nutrition interventions and education, coordinate care with interdisciplinary teams, and document transplant nutrition readiness.
Follow evaluated transplant patients during inpatient stays and present risks and updates to the Patient Selection Committee.
Escalate nutrition interventions based on nutritional and clinical status, including oral nutrition supplements and consideration of enteral nutrition when intake is inadequate.
Collaborate with the care team on glycemic control, refeeding risk, wound-healing supplementation, and other nutrition-related needs.
Provide post-transplant and LVAD discharge education on food safety, infection-risk mitigation, wound healing, and low-sodium or fluid-restriction nutrition therapy.
Support long-term cardiometabolic management and physical-activity nutrition needs in coordination with physical therapy or rehabilitation.
Provide one-to-one clinic visits or develop group-class curriculum for non-transplant heart failure patients.
Provide ongoing medical nutrition therapy for the inpatient census through screening, prioritizing, assessment, intervention, and documentation.
Prescribe and manage therapeutic diets, oral nutrition supplements, enteral nutrition, and parenteral nutrition within the MNT protocol; assess tolerance and effectiveness and coordinate with physicians and pharmacy.
Coordinate with patient services, physicians, nursing, and other teams to align meals, restrictions, allergies, supplements, and tube feedings with patient needs and personal, religious, and cultural preferences.
Develop patient-specific menus for complex dietary needs and recommend appropriate clinical nutrition formula or supplement substitutions during supply disruptions.
Identify, treat, and prevent malnutrition; document findings and provide education to patients with moderate or severe malnutrition.
Document Global Malnutrition Composite Score elements and participate in QAPI efforts, regulatory readiness, and department safety and compliance initiatives.
Document billable nutrition diagnoses and enter outpatient nutrition charges when applicable.
Collaborate with discharge planners, Care Management, Home Health, and interdisciplinary teams to coordinate transitions and home enteral or parenteral nutrition needs.
Provide nutrition education to inpatients, outpatients, and family members through individual counseling and classes; provide teammate in-services as applicable.
Participate in clinical nutrition initiatives and system projects, and help deploy updates to clinical systems, menus, procedures, and policies.
Precept dietetic graduate students and medical residents, monitor progress, provide feedback, and deliver nutrition lectures as applicable.
Participate in required meetings, including weekly Patient Selection Committee and scheduled quality, protocol, transplant advisory, transplant overview, and heart failure meetings.
Provide clinical nutrition coverage at other sites as needed.
Adapt workflow to census, consult volume, patient acuity, and staffing conditions.