Plans and delivers nutrition care for patients of any age including infant, child, adolescent, adult and geriatric.  Performs nutrition assessment and care planning and provides education to individuals and groups on medical nutrition therapy.  Integrates nutrition care with other treatment modalities. Interprets biochemical and clinical data, identifies and monitors patients at nutritional risk; provides a variety of nutritional therapy interventions to resolve nutritional crisis and to ensure health maintenance. Independently, manages nutrition care for patients utilizing medical staff approved orders protocol.  Embodies the Memorial Health Values of Safety, Integrity, Quality, and Stewardship that support our mission and vision.

Education:

Requires Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics, Nutrition, or related field.

Licensure/Certification/Registry:

• Requires Registered Dietitian status by the Commission on Dietetic Registration or registry-eligible.
• Requires licensure in State of Illinois as a Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist within 6 months of hire date.

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Requires high level of self-direction to work independently.
• Requires knowledge and experience to develop -nutrition care plans for oral, enteral and parenteral nutrition therapy.
• Requires effective written and verbal communication skills

1. Service Excellence: Memorial is committed to standards of service that are defined by our behavioral standards and our SERVICE Values.   Employees are accountable to support and maintain service standards and behaviors set for all employees and to department specific standards and behaviors relative to service excellence.

2. Patient Care: Assesses and evaluates the nutritional status of individual patients in health and disease throughout the life cycle, and develops and recommends a course of nutrition therapy in order to influence the course of treatment.  Based upon a complete nutrition assessment, develops and recommends appropriate medical nutrition therapy including oral, enteral, and parenteral nutrition therapy.   (A complete nutrition assessment would include anthropometic and biochemical data.)  Evaluates the effects of nutritional intervention on the nutritional status of patients/clients in order to provide feedback regarding the appropriateness of various treatments.  Provides consultation for the development and implementation of procedures for the provision of nutrition care to the patient.  May be expected to participate in an on-call rotation for off-hour and weekend nutrition services coverage.

3. Nutritional Care Plan: Constructs and coordinates all aspects of the nutrition care plan, including the identification of short and long term goals; delineation of treatment modalities and education plans; communicates and monitors implementation of the nutrition care plan, and documents all aspects of nutrition care to ensure that regulatory agencies’ standards are met and to provide communication to all team members.  Ensures effective care is given at a reasonable cost.  Arrange for follow-up nutrition care subsequent to discharge or transfer.

4. Medical Nutrition Therapy – orders protocol. Appropriately utilizes independent decision making and medical nutrition therapy orders protocol to implement or modify nutrition related orders to provide efficient and optimal nutrition care.  Initiates communication with physician and other care providers to coordinate patient care.

5. Education: Plans, organizes, implements, and evaluates nutrition education for patients/clients, including the identification of appropriate settings and materials to assure that necessary nutrition education is provided with regard to the needs of the individual.  Communicates pertinent information to other health care professionals and educates the practitioners.  Provides services for community-based projects and programs.  Attend seminars and lectures to keep abreast of current research trends.

6. Quality: Assists with data collection and evaluation of quality indicators to monitor quality and appropriateness of patient care.

7. Evidence Based Care: Nutrition care plans show application of evidence based medical nutrition therapy.

8. Communication: Accepts and documents telephone orders from physicians for diet orders, tube feeding or TPN prescriptions including all additives, adjustments in IV fluids in conjunction with tube feeding or TPN changes, indirect calorimetry, calorie counts, weights, and laboratory tests if they relate to the patient’s nutrition care plan.  Attends patient care rounds and consults with physicians, nursing personnel and other members of the health care team to provide information regarding patients’ nutrition history, to ensure compatibility of the nutrition care plan with other health care plans, to discuss unusual nutritional needs or food preferences of patients, to resolve problems and to implement changes.  Plans and oversees work of and provide technical guidance to ancillary personnel engaged in implementing diets, assisting patients with menu selections and preparing, serving and distributing food to patients.  

9. Specialty Areas: Clinical dietitians may be required to cover clinical specialty areas, which require he/she meets additional competencies and training to provide nutrition care to these disease specific patients.  Additional job duties are defined below according to specialty type.

Cardiac Rehab: The clinical dietitian will provide a monthly group nutrition class on heart healthy nutrition as well as diabetes to the out-patient cardiac rehab. The classes will be documented in each patient’s medical record. The clinical dietitian will review and/or develop educational materials for the specific nutritional needs of the cardiac patient.

Heart Failure Clinic: The clinical dietitian will function as part of the Heart Failure Clinic team by providing nutrition assessment, intervention, and education as indicated.  Care will be documented in the patient’s medical record.  The dietitian will review and/or develop educational materials for the specific nutritional needs of the heart failure patient, will develop a lunch menu plus recipe(s) handout for the monthly Heart Failure Support Group, and will attend meetings regarding Heart Failure Clinic as indicated.

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS): The clinical dietitian will complete the LVRS CBL regarding the care of a LVRS patient biannually.  The dietitian will provide nutrition evaluation to include assessment, intervention, and education, with care documented in the patient’s medical record.  Pre-surgical care will be documented in the medical record using the LVRS pre-admission note.  In-patient care will be documented in the medical recording using the nutrition assessment form, education record and LVRS daily rounding note.  Patients may also be seen post discharge as an outpatient in pulmonary rehab, if indicated.  The dietitian will attend LVRS Team Selection meetings as well as daily rounding with the multidisciplinary team (weekdays only).

Outpatient Dialysis: The clinical dietitian must be licensed as a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist by the State of Illinois for one year or supervised by a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist with licensure for 1 year.  The dietitian will provide nutrition assessment, intervention, and education monthly for all acute dialysis unit patients receiving outpatient dialysis.  The dietitian will review monthly labs with the patient and calculate kt/v as part of the monthly nutrition assessment.  The dietitian will document care in the patient’s medical record.   The dietitian is also responsible for maintaining regular communication with the nursing home dietitian, if the patient resides in a nursing home.  The dietitian will participate in Interdisciplinary Team Meetings (IDT)  and Unit Based Council (UBC) Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QUAPI) meetings as appropriate.

Radiation Oncology: The clinical dietitian will see newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients as notified by the Oncology Nurse Navigator and provide nutrition assessment and/or education.  The dietitian will document care in the patient’s medical record.

Rehab: The clinical dietitian will facilitate group nutrition classes to patients and families on the rehab unit as well as attend rounds as indicated/appropriate.  Care will be documented as indicated on the rehab rounding form.

Transplant: The clinical dietitian will serve as part of the Transplant Team by providing nutrition assessment, intervention, education, and discharge planning.  Care will be documented in the patient’s medical record.  Care will be provided to recipients and donors in all phase of transplant including pre-transplant, transplant, and post-transplant.  The dietitian will review and/or develop educational materials for the specific nutritional needs of the transplant candidates, recipients and living donors.   The dietitian will facilitate the nutrition section of the Transplant 101 Class.  The dietitian will attend Transplant Selection Committee meetings as well as Large Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QUAPI) meetings.  The dietitian is responsible for maintaining regular communication with the patient’s dialysis center, if the patient is on dialysis. 

10. Performs other related work as required or requested.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job.  Incumbents may be requested to perform tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.