Dietitian

Job Title: Clinical Dietitian

Department: Nutrition Services

Reports To: Clinical Nutrition Manager

Location: Hutchinson Health

The Clinical Dietitian provides inpatient medical nutrition therapy. Their responsibilities include nutritional assessment, malnutrition diagnosing, development and implementation of nutrition care plans, monitoring and evaluation of patient response, documentation, and the provision of nutrition education to patients, medical staff, dietetic students/interns and the community.

HealthPartner's Clinical Dietitians are expected to practice at the top of their scope and licensure. The clinical dietitian will use their order writing privileges to place and modify diet orders, manage enteral nutrition and enteric access, and manage parenteral nutrition per hospital protocol.

Responsibilities also include developing improvement processes to ensure continued excellent nutrition care is provided to patients. The position reports to the Clinical Nutrition Manager and performs other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Assesses the nutritional status of patients throughout the lifespan.

• Reviews and evaluates the patients' medical and nutritional history. Including: age, anthropometric data, age, medication, and labs.
• Interviews patients and/or family to discuss nutritional history.
• Considers the patients' social, cultural, economic, and psychological factors role in their nutritional status.
• Performs Nutrition Focused Physical Exam (NFPE), accurately identifying muscle and fat mass wasting on all patient assessments.
• Uses order writing privileges to order necessary labs, and/or calorie counts to complete nutrition assessment.
• Evaluates patient and/or caregiver readiness to learn and accurately identifies barriers to learning.
• Demonstrates competency to care for patients throughout the lifespan.

Accurately diagnoses malnutrition status based on patient assessments.

• Uses NFPE, and assessment data to diagnose malnutrition per the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition guidelines.
• Accurately documents nutrition status, diagnosis, care plan, progress, and revisions within medical chart.

Appropriately develops and implements patient tailored, evidence-based nutrition care plans.

• Uses order writing privileges to order diet modifications, nutritional supplements, snacks, and/or calorie counts.
• Recommend feeding tubes for patients throughout the lifespan, per hospital policy and procedures.
• Recommend, order, monitor and modify enteral and parenteral nutrition per hospital protocol.
• Clearly identifies goals, outcomes, education, and referral needs.
• Designs evidence-based nutrition intervention with consideration for patient diagnosis, age, culture and personal views.
• Uses effective counseling skills and written materials to facilitate behavior change.
• Develops appropriate and tailored goals with patients and/or caregivers.
• Utilizes evidence-based, standard practice guidelines when providing medical nutrition therapy.
• Communicates nutrition care plan with medical staff, nursing, and nutrition services.

Maintains and evaluates the effectiveness of nutritional care, practice guidelines, and educational materials.

• Completes nutrition plans and assessments within the required time frames per nutrition policies and regulatory agencies.
• Recommends appropriate monitoring parameters to assess nutritional status, tolerance, compliance and/or response to the recommended nutrition care plan.
• Evaluates lab and other test values in relation to nutrition care plan.
• Adjusts nutrition care plan and goals according to patient progress and treatment goals.
• Refers patients for home services and community and/or government resources as appropriate.
• Communicates nutrition plan and care with outside facilities, and home care agencies/caregivers.

Participates in providing quality and effective nutritional care as a part of patients' overall medical care.

• Actively participates in multidisciplinary care rounds and care conferences.
• Develops and manages education opportunities for dietetic interns, and/or other health care professionals, as assigned.
• Conducts in-services, as assigned for hospital employees, dietetic interns and/or the community to enhance understanding of medical nutrition therapy.
• Shows consideration to others by promptly returning phones call, being punctual for meetings, and being available to work with others.
• Communicates respectfully and effectively with patients, family, and colleagues.
• Follows the dietetic profession's code of ethics and standards of practice.
• Maintains professional and hospital competencies to assure excellent medical nutrition care, including continuing to meet requirements for registration and licensure.
• Participates in department and hospital quality improvement work.
• Attends and makes positive contributions at staff meetings.
• Participates and/or applies clinical research to improve quality of care.
• Manages a variety of assignments, using time effectively to meet deadlines and goals.

Education, Training or Degree Required:

1. Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in food and nutrition or dietetics; If RD obtained after 12/2023, a minimum of Master's degree is required.
2. Accredited supervised practice/internship in dietetics

License/Registration/Certification Required: (will be primary source verified by HR)

1. Registered Dietitian within 5 months of hire. Preferred to have this at time of hire.
2. Licensed Dietitian within Minnesota within 5 months of hire. Preferred to have this at time of hire.

Experience and Skills:

1. 1+ year(s) of clinical nutrition experience, preferred
2. Knowledge of medical nutrition therapy throughout the lifespan, required
3. Ability to assess nutrition status, diagnose malnutrition, and implement nutrition interventions, required
4. Ability to monitor, facilitate and evaluate behavior change, required
5. Knowledge of the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics for the profession of dietetics, required
6. Ability to supervise dietetic students, interns and technicians, required
7. Ability to use a computer, required

8. Ability to use electronic charting system, EPIC, preferred