Registered Dietitian II

Job Summary

To provide nutritional care to inpatients and outpatients through the process of assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring.

To sustain a safe, effective, efficient, patient-centered service by using quality management principles. To assist in the supervision and training of Dietitians I and participate in the development of protocols and patient education materials related to nutrition.

Job Responsibilities 1

Responsible for the dietetic care of specific acute or critical care floors and clinics, representing specialized clinical nutrition expertise.

Applies clinical nutrition and medical nutrition therapy principles and models to client-centered care across the lifespan (*includes etiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology elements).

Uses evidence-based nutrition knowledge and dietetic expertise, reasoning, and judgment to optimize nutrition, health, and well-being.

Assesses, plans, implements, monitors, evaluates and adapts food service systems to meet patient and stakeholder needs.

Analyses assessment data to identify nutrition diagnoses, prioritize problems and formulate goals in collaboration with patients.

Develops, implements, monitors, evaluates and adapts client-centered nutrition care plans based on assessment data and clinical reasoning.

Uses appropriate dietary assessment methods to assess food and nutrient intakes of patients.

Assesses the patient’s nutritional status through interviews with the patient and/or significant others (including obtaining and evaluating diet history as appropriate), and review of the medical record and laboratory values.

Recommends, monitors, and evaluates Special Foods (oral, enteral, and parenteral products) and approved nutrition-related medicines to optimize nutritional status.

Provides day-to-day clinical support to enteral and parenteral nutrition (PN) patients.

Recommends modification of nutritional intake/orders to physicians as appropriate.

Job Responsibilities 2

Monitors patient tolerance to modified diets and supplements, adjusts food provided as appropriate, and provides follow-up care as appropriate.

Provides diet and nutrition counseling to patients and family members, and/or significant others as appropriate.

Supervises patient meals on a random basis and updates patient menus.

Documents all aspects of nutritional care in the medical chart in a timely fashion following established protocols and standards of care.

Collects and maintains a record of workload measurement data and clinical statistics on an ongoing basis.

Establishes and maintains professional relationships that are characterized by trust, respect, empathy, and cultural safety.

Develops rapport and maintains lines of communication with patients, medical staff: nursing personnel, and Food Service staff.

Communicates with patients at an appropriate health and food literacy level to support informed decisions.

Assists in the development, implementation and evaluation of protocols and procedures to ensure quality nutritional care for inpatients and outpatients.

Assists in the development of procedures, programs, reference manuals, and complete monitoring and evaluations.

Contributes to the Quality Improvement and computer system.

Develops and implements written teaching tools for patient education.

Develops and provides nutritional presentations to inpatients, outpatients, medical staff: multidisciplinary allied health professionals and community groups as requested.