Clinical Dietitian - Community Health Center

Core Functions

• Develops individualized nutritional care plans considering cultural preferences.
• Evaluates and adjusts care plans based on patient response and nutritional status.
• Collaborates with physicians to recommend appropriate nutritional interventions.
• Educates patients, families, and staff using effective teaching principles.
• Provides nutrition-drug interaction guidance to physicians.
• Applies medical nutrition therapy knowledge in patient care.
• Communicates effectively with patients, physicians, and staff.
• Establishes and monitors diet prescriptions, documentation, assessments, and education.
• Assists in updating the Departmental Diet Manual to meet regulatory standards.
• Conducts performance improvement activities to enhance nutritional care quality.
• Serves as a clinical nutrition resource for medical and food service staff.
• Maintains compliance with Infection Control, DNV, and ISO 9001 standards.
• Validates therapeutic diet orders and conducts nutritional assessments.
• Calculates nutritional needs and develops care plans accordingly.
• Provides nutrition counseling and referrals for continued care.
• Participates in multidisciplinary care planning.
• Documents all assessments, interventions, and outcomes in medical records.
• Ensures therapeutic diets meet standards in collaboration with Food Service Director.
• Assists in developing nutritionally adequate patient menus.
• Participates in hospital and medical staff committees.
• Maintains required clinical records and statistics.
• Engages in department meetings to improve service quality.
• Delivers exceptional service to patients, staff, and visitors.
• Demonstrates initiative and timely response to requests.
• Identifies and reports safety or quality concerns appropriately.
• Manages patient complaints and inquiries professionally.
• Promotes teamwork over self-interest.
• Uses problem-solving and conflict resolution skills to support collaboration.

Safety Practices

• Promotes a culture of patient safety that results in the identification and reduction of unsafe practices.
• Utilizes Culture of Safety survey responses in improvement efforts.
• Identifies risks and hazards to patients through various risk assessments, with actions taken to mitigate patient harm.
• Improves medication safety practices, including increased reporting of adverse drug events and improved compliance with the medication reconciliation process.
• Decreased, hospital-acquired infections and improved compliance with infection control practices (including hand hygiene).
• Decreased hospital acquired conditions such as complications associated with ventilator use and pressure ulcers, through improved compliance with patient safety bundles and/or other formal performance improvement programs.

Professional Responsibility

• Adheres to dress code; maintains a neat and professional appearance.
• Completes all required annual education and training.
• Maintains patient confidentiality and complies with privacy policies.
• Reports to work on time; completes tasks within scheduled timeframes.
• Consistently fulfills assigned duties and responsibilities.
• Wears proper identification and uses timekeeping system accurately.
• Attends required reviews, inservices, and staff meetings; reviews meeting minutes when absent.
• Upholds hospital policies on confidentiality and ethical practices.
• Represents the organization positively and professionally.
• Actively participates in performance improvement initiatives.
• Communicates and supports the facility's mission, ethics, and goals.
• Responds promptly to requests and demonstrates initiative.
• Identifies and reports safety or quality concerns appropriately.
• Manages patient complaints and inquiries professionally.
• Promotes teamwork and collaboration over individual interests.
• Demonstrates effective problem-solving, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.

Education:

• Registered Dieticians after 2024, must possess a Master's degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, or a closely related field from an ACEND-accredited program to be eligible for Registered Dietitian credentialing.

Experience:

• Completion of an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program (dietetic internship).
• Preferred experience in clinical nutrition within a hospital or healthcare setting.

Licenses/Certificates:

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
• Current state licensure to practice as a Dietitian (as required by state regulations).
• Ongoing compliance with continuing education requirements to maintain credentials.

Equal Opportunity Employer
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