Dietitian Generalist

Responsibilities:

• Educates and share resource information with other interdisciplinary team members.
• Reviews professional publications, studies, and journals for new nutritional concepts and products.
• Provides nutritional education to residents and their families in nutritional principles, dietary plans, food selection, and preparation.
• Appropriately determines level of nutritional risk if appropriate.
• Evaluates signs and symptoms of malabsorption.
• Develops resident education tools as related to nutrition therapy.
• Conducts professional nutritional assessments on low risk, moderate risk, and high risk.
• Obtains, assess, and interpret information regarding hydration status, impact of disease and treatment on organ function, medical history, diet history, input/output data, gastrointestinal functioning, nutrient deficiencies and toxicities using laboratory data, appropriate age/disease specific nutrient requirements, anthropometric data, drug nutrient interactions, and dietary supplement/herbal usage.
• Develops sound and cost effective nutrition care plans.
• Recommends appropriate diet, oral nutrition supplements, and oral vitamin/mineral supplements.
• Accountable a nutrition liaison expert responding to needs and initiatives for nutrition care process improvement.
• Maintains and enhance open channels of communication with all departments and the community.
• Serves on committees as requested.
• Engages in training and assist with the orientation and teaching of students and employees
• Calculates calorie, protein, fluid, and other nutrient requirements.
• Identifies realistic and measurable goals for nutrition intervention.
• Calculates calorie counts.
• Interprets changes in anthropometric data.
• Evaluates TPN orders for nutritional adequacy. Recommend protein, lipid, carbohydrate, vitamin, electrolytes, mineral, and trace element components of parenteral solutions.
• Makes referrals to other health professionals when needed.
• Instructs resident/significant others on diet; evaluates resident understanding of nutrition instructions and motivation to comply with nutrition instructions.
• Provides timely direct nutrition services by following the departmentally established policies and procedures and professional standards in order to promote optimal health and recovery to patients based on the age, disability, and needs of the patient.
• Monitors resident response to nutrition therapy and evaluates nutrition plan of care.
• Participates in staffing, treatment meetings, and family conferences for residents at nutritional risk.
• Attends and participate in department and staff meetings.
• Attends in-services, workshops, and seminars as related to resident care issues and to other work related responsibilities to enhance competency/skills.
• Assists in discharge planning. Recommend appropriate follow-up care for post discharge.
• Maintains resident confidentiality.
• Reviews diet manual annually and makes recommendation for revisions.
• Participates in professional development to expand or update knowledge.
• Determines enteral feeding formulas based on age, nutrient requirements, and diagnosis, enteral vitamin/mineral supplementation, type of enteral access, rate of initiation of enteral feedings, and rate of progression on enteral feedings.
• Accurately assesses residents nutritional status, identifies nutritional risk, develop plans of care and evaluate outcomes. Consult with physician and other health care personnel to determine nutritional needs, and diet restrictions as needed.
• Monitors for changes in nutrition-related laboratory values, wound healing, changes in functional ability, tolerance to enteral and parenteral feeding, appropriateness of transition from one mode of nutrition therapy to another, and for changes in organ function while providing nutrition support.
• Documents all intervention in the medical record and in departmental records in a timely manner following hospital and departmental policies and procedures.
• Develops and conduct in-services as requested.