Navajo Preference Employment Act

In accordance with Navajo Nation and federal law, TCRHCC has implemented an Affirmative Action Plan pursuant to the Navajo Preference in Employment Act. Pursuant to this Plan and corresponding TCRHCC Policy, applicants who meet the necessary qualifications for this position and (1) are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe will be given preference in hiring and employment for this position, (2) are legally married to enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and meet residency requirements will be given secondary preference, and (3) are enrolled members of other federally-recognized American Indian Tribes will be given tertiary preference.

Overview

POSITION SUMMARY

This position is responsible for providing inpatient and outpatient medical nutrition therapy appropriate to medical diagnoses; providing diabetes self-management education; and using public health approaches to prevent and treat obesity, diabetes, and complications of diabetes. Provides case management services for a sub-population of patients with diabetes, e.g. newly-diagnosed, patients who are pregnant, diabetes in youth, uncontrolled T2DM, etc. These services promote efficient and effective use of a variety of health resources by focusing on the whole patient to provide a seamless continuum of care. The goals are the provision of quality health care, decreased fragmentation of care, enhancement of a patient’s self-care and quality of life and cost containment. Incumbent also participates in weekend/holiday rotating on-call schedule to provide medical nutrition therapy for inpatients, with and without diabetes. This is a grant-funded position.

Qualifications

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Must have Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics

Certification:

• Must be a Registered Dietitian in good standing with the Commission on Dietetic Registration
• Must have and maintain a current valid certification of the following throughout employment:
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association

Experience:

Must have two (2) years of work experience as a clinical dietitian in an outpatient setting, with the majority of experience in diabetes self-management.

Other Skills and Abilities:

A record of satisfactory performance in all prior and current employment as evidenced by positive employment references from previous and current employers. All employment references must address and indicate success in each one of the following areas:

• Positive working relationships with others; cooperating effectively in teams for the benefit of patient care.
• Possession of high ethical standards and no history of complaints.
• Reliable and dependable; reports to work as scheduled without excessive absences.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills; exceptional communication and interpersonal skills are essential.
• Ability to prioritize duties and work independently; must be self-motivated.
• Experience with Microsoft Office and other computer applications.
• Completion of and, above-satisfactory scores on all job interviews, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the interviewees and TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Successful completion of and positive results from all background and reference checks, including positive employment references from authorized representatives of past and current employers demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC a record of satisfactory performance and that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Successful completion of fingerprint clearance requirements, physical examinations, and other screenings indicating that the applicant is qualified to be employed by TCRHCC and demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Submission of all required employment-related documents, applications, resumes, references, and other required information free of false, misleading, or incomplete information, as determined by TCRHCC.

MENTAL & PHYSICAL EFFORT

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical:

This position requires an individual of high energy who can maintain a long and flexible schedule to meet the management requirements. The physical requirements include; sitting long periods of time, frequent walking to interact with staff within the facility, occasionally driving, climbing bending, kneeling, crouching, and twisting, Must be able to frequently maintain balance and reaching. Must be able to hear, speak and comprehend over the telephone and in person with others. Must have ability to lift to 35lbs, and push and pull up to 10lbs frequently. Sensory requirements for position include prolonged ability for far, near, and color vision, depth perception, seeing fine details, hearing normal speech, telephone use and ability to frequently hear overhead pages. Must have ability of both hand manipulation in simple and firm grasping, fine manipulation, and use of keyboard.

Mental:

Uses independent judgment and analytical skills to make decisions that impact operations, finances, and customer service within the organization. The incumbent must have the ability to perform in structured and unstructured environments and possess a keen attention to detail and propose practices/mechanisms to enhance customer satisfaction. Must have ability to continually concentrate, handle a high degree of flexibility, handle multiple priorities in stressful situation, demonstrate high degree of patience, adapt to shift work, work in areas that are close in crowded, frequently cope with high levels of stress, make decisions under high pressure, work alone, and occasionally cope with anger/fear/hostility of others in a calm way and manage altercations.

Environmental:

May frequently be exposed to chemical agents, extremes in temperature and humidity, occasional exposure to infectious diseases, dust, fumes, gases, hazardous or moving equipment, and loud noises.

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Provides inpatient and outpatient medical nutrition therapy and diabetes self-management education.

Performs individual patient needs assessment to evaluate intervention priorities. Assesses patient needs, medical condition, lab values, nutrition and weight status, self-management abilities, psychosocial concerns, learning factors, mental and emotional health status, access to health care resources, and glycemic control. Provides appropriate level and frequency of care for patients and their families as identified in the individual assessment.

In collaboration with the patient, family, and health care team, identifies realistic and appropriate interventions and goals based on needs assessment. Supports the patient and health care team in completing the intervention and meeting goals.

Provides diabetes self-management education in both individual and group settings utilizing the IHS “Balancing Your Life with Diabetes” and American Association of Diabetes Educators curricula.

Assists in the maintenance of a registry of patients with diabetes through the RPMS diabetes registry or another electronic system.

Tracks and reports productivity through patient contacts and outcomes on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Understands and applies the ADA and IHS Diabetes Standards of Care.

Applies theoretical approaches such as motivational interviewing, stages of change theory, and empowerment theory to facilitate behavior change. Effectively communicates with patients and families in a culturally sensitive manner.

Recommends adjustment of treatment plan utilizing patient blood glucose monitoring data to optimize glycemic control. If adjustments in medications are indicated, consultation with the primary care provider or attending physician is done; if the primary care provider or attending physician is not available, consultation will be done with the physician on call from the same service.

Utilize a case management model to follow a specific sub-population of diabetes patients, e.g. newly-diagnosed, adolescents, pregnant patients, high-risk patients, etc. Ensures patients receive recommended services and appropriate follow-up.

Collaborates with medical, nursing, and other staff throughout TCRHCC to provide coordinated, team-based, high-quality diabetes and nutrition care in all settings.

Provides consultant services to the TCRHCC Dietary Department as needed, such as trayline monitoring, menu updates, and in-service training.

Attends and participates in Diabetes Clinical Services team meetings, HLC staff meetings, and other committee efforts as appropriate.

Serves as a clinical expert and resource on diabetes and nutrition to TCRHCC. Initiates and develops in-service training to staff to keep staff updated on issues pertaining to diabetes and nutrition.

Provides inpatient medical nutrition therapy to patients with and without diabetes on a rotating weekend/holiday on-call schedule.

Prepares patient education materials as needed, seeking approval for use of new or updated materials through the Patient Education Materials Committee.

Maintains confidentiality regarding administrative and patient related care.

Maintains current licensure, job-related competencies, and knowledge of evidence-based guidelines through active participation in continuing education, independent study, seminars, in-services, and dialogue with colleagues.

Develops and assists with Performance Improvement initiatives.

Operates, monitors, and maintains patient care equipment.

Employs the American Association of Diabetes Educators AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors framework.

Ensure proper PPE is worn at all times while on duty including but not limited to, face mask, gloves, gown, isolation gown, NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher, if available), and eye or face shield.

Complete all donning and doffing tasks in a safe acceptable method and discard of used PPE accordingly. (see CDC website for most current updates)

Complete task training for all routine cleaning and decontamination processes for all surfaces contaminated by a communicable disease to ensure a high level of patient, visitor, employee, and external customer satisfaction.

Performs other duties as assigned.