Pediatric Dietitian at Portland, OR (Marquam Hill) – Portland, Oregon

Nutrition Assessment:

• Consults medical team, nursing, social work, and other therapies (PT/OT/Speech and Language, etc.) Concerning problems affecting patient's food habits and needs; interviews parents or care giver to obtain diet history, food or formula tolerances, allergies, social/economic/cultural information, food preparation habits and cooking facilities; inquires about food preferences, chewing or swallowing difficulties, completes anthromometric measurements; analyzes patient's data (diagnosis, medications, medical history) to determine nutritional status and develop nutrition care plan

Nutrition Care Plan:

• Recommends and documents appropriate medical nutrition therapy; advises physicians, nurses, and other health care team regarding implementation of nutrition care; selects types and amounts of food for special diets based on indicated physiological, psychological and biochemical needs of patients and integrates them with food preferences; indicates mode of feeding for infants or children with chewing or swallowing difficulties; assesses the need for alternate means of nutrition support (i.e. enteral vs. parenteral) and develops appropriate formulation.

Nutrition Care Plan Follow-up:

• Evaluates meals served for conformance to prescribed diet and standards of palatability and appearance; conducts nutrition rounds to note patients adherence to nutritional plan; monitors anthropometric, biochemical indices and caloric intake to determine appropriateness of care plan; modifies nutritional intervention as necessary; participates in patient care conferences and multi disciplinary team meetings; plans for patient, parent or care giver counseling for nutrition modification

Nutrition Instruction:

• Counsels patient, parents, or care giver in appropriate diet and/or formula modifications; provides educational materials and verbal instruction to support inpatient and outpatient nutrition care plan; provides education material to other health team members regarding infant formulas, nutrition supplements or diet modifications; acts a resource for OHSU and surrounding community in the area of pediatric nutrition.

Job Related Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Competencies)

• Must be proficient in the nutrition care process.
• Must be able to determine the nutrient requirements of the pediatric inpatient and outpatient to ensure adequate nutrient intake and/or replacement of nutrients loss secondary to medical condition;
• determine the nutrient make-up of patients meal patterns and medications (dosage and timing) that affect nutrient and/or drug bioavailablity;
• determine malnutrition and recommend and administer medical nutrition therapy to improve digestion, absorption and metabolism of nutrients;
• make recommendations concerning adjustment of some medications that relate to nutrition, in order to promote increased well-being of the patient, maintenance of acceptable blood chemistries, increased bioavailability of drugs, decreased hospitalization days, and cost-effectiveness of regimens.
• Must complete annual age specific competency training and post test.

• MS in Nutrition or related field
• Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition or other qualifying certification to meet the criteria of Clinical Dietitian Specialist. If employee meets criteria the position will be reclassified as a Clinical Dietitian Specialist. WA Certificate (CD) required within six months of hire.
• 2 years clinical experience with 1 year working in pediatrics strongly preferred