Clinical Dietitian in Lawrence, Massachusetts at Merrimack Health

As a Clinical Dietitian, you will function as the primary resource for Medical Nutrition Therapy of inpatients as needed, within the framework of the multidisciplinary health care team.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Monitors the nutritional needs of patients to assure appropriate nutritional care:

• Identifies high nutritional risk patients and makes clear treatment recommendations based on nutritional indicators in the medical record.
• Performs nutritional assessments using pre-established criteria and formulates nutritional care plans, appropriate to patient ages and physical limitations, making recommendations to physicians and health care team members as needed.
• Participates in multidisciplinary patient care rounds and collaborates with other allied health professionals in patient plans of care, including discharge planning.
• Communicates relevant changes in patient conditions/treatment plans to nursing, assuring accuracy and continuity of care.
• Communicates with physicians, patients/families, and ancillary departments regarding patient conditions/treatments, verbally (including via phone) and in writing.
• Educates patients/families on modified/therapeutic diets, according to their learning needs, barriers to learning, preferred learning styles and education levels, utilizing translator services when indicated.
• Develops patient educational materials, reviewing and revising such as needed, using current standards of acceptable practice.
• Calculates enteral and parenteral nutrition recommendations, and infant/baby formula recommendations, when applicable. Communicates recommendations to the physicians and health care team members.
• Conducts Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations and documents findings in the medical record.

Conducts a variety of activities to ensure patient satisfaction with meals and services.

• Maintains current diet information, communicating appropriate information to diet office/kitchen staff, in order to facilitate daily meal and snack provision according to patients needs and preferences.
• Interprets/adjusts menus and complex diet information and transcribes such for menu selection/computer input as needed.
• Conducts patient rounds to elicit patients’ satisfaction with their overall nutritional care experience, conducting service recovery activities as needed to resolve issues.

Provides current, appropriate nutritional information to hospital personnel and the community:

• Organizes, develops and teaches classes in the community on a variety of nutrition topics.
• Conducts educational sessions for physicians, nurses, students and other allied health professionals.
• Assists in the training of department employees in a variety of nutritional topics and contributes to the ongoing therapeutic accuracy of meals and patient satisfaction.
• Participates in projects to update office resources and clinical practice using evidence-based criteria.

EDUCATION AND RELATED EXPERIENCE:
Required:

• Registered Dietitian with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) OR Registered Dietitian Eligible with CDR and must successfully pass the RD exam within 90 days of hire.
• Dietitian/Nutritionist License with the Licensing Board of Dietitians & Nutritionists of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts OR eligible to become licensed and must obtain state licensure within 90 days of hire.

Preferred:

• One or more years of experience with inpatient nutrition care activities.
• Certification in specialized area (i.e. Nutrition Support, Pediatrics, Renal, Diabetes Education, etc.)
• Postgraduate degree in nutrition related field.