Registered Dietitian

Description

The Registered Dietitian provides nutrition education and counseling in an outpatient setting, with an aim to empower patients to live healthier and more self-sufficient lives. This position supports, promotes and furthers the health center’s goal of providing the highest standards of culturally competent and sensitive professional services consistent with our mission.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Nutritional Assessment
   1. Utilize medical history, laboratory/biochemical data, anthropometric measurements, and diet history to evaluate for nutrition-related consequences.
   2. Perform nutrition focused physical exam during assessments on patients to determine risk and/or degree of malnutrition when indicated.
   3. Review dietary intake for factors that affect health conditions and nutritional risk.
   4. Evaluate psychosocial, functional, and behavioral factors related to food access, selection, preparation; physical activity; and understanding of health condition.
   5. Evaluate patient and family’s knowledge, readiness to learn, and potential for changing behaviors.
   6. Organize and categorize the data in a meaningful framework that is related to nutrition problems.
2. Diagnosis & Intervention
   1. Find patterns and relationships among the data and possible causes for the nutrition problem.
   2. Prioritize the relative importance of nutrition problems for optimal patient health, recovery from illness, management of chronic disease, or disease prevention.
   3. Document a nutrition diagnostic statement and provide supporting evidence within the electronic medical record.
   4. Develop and implement evidence-based nutrition interventions, based on recognized nutrition practice guidelines.
   5. Assess patients’ nutritional needs and create individualized nutrition plans based on personal health goals and needs, which is documented in the electronic medical record and communicated to the patient, family and patient care team.
   6. Reinforce Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) goals prescribed by the healthcare provider.
   7. As needed, delegate or coordinate nutrition plan of care with other healthcare professionals.
3. Monitoring
   1. Provide appropriate follow-up in accordance with the patient’s treatment goals.
   2. Utilize monitoring and evaluation techniques that consider the patient’s nutrition needs as well as cultural, religious, and ethnic concerns.
   3. Monitor patient’s tolerance to treatment modalities and progress through checking patient understanding and compliance with plan; determine whether the intervention is being implemented as prescribed; provide evidence that the plan/intervention strategy is or is not changing patient behavior or status; identify other positive or negative outcomes; gather information indicating reasons for lack of progress; and support conclusions with evidence.
   4. Measure outcomes through selecting outcome indicators relevant to the nutrition diagnosis, and outcomes and quality management goals and use of standardized indicators. Evaluate the effectiveness and measure progress toward outcomes of nutrition interventions.
   5. Evaluates outcomes by comparing current findings with previous status, intervention goals, and/or reference standards.
4. Documentation
   1. Provide detailed, accurate, and timely information related to nutritional assessments and interventions in the patient’s electronic medical record, in accordance with health center standards.
   2.  
5. Education & Counseling
   1. Provide age-specific nutritional education and counseling in individual, group and family settings that focuses on healthy eating habits and the importance of a balanced diet.
   2. Assess educational needs and provide nutrition counseling based on individual needs, including nutrient requirements, knowledge and abilities, and medical, economic, and social situation.
   3. Provide counsel on nutritional and health-related problems in an empathetic manner, observing sound nutritional practices and participant confidentiality.
   4. Serves as an educator and resource to medical staff and allied health personnel on nutrition issues, including nutrition support therapy principles, content, and issues as needed for specific patient populations.
   5. Develop curriculum and lead instruction for nutrition education classes
6. Referral to Services
   1. Determine when a problem requires consultation or referral to another provider or service.
   2. Provide patient referrals to specific JFS programs or partner organizations, especially as it relates to food security.
   3. Coordinate patient referrals to WIC, SNAP, and other safety net programs for which patients might be eligible.
7. Other Duties
   1. Effectively communicate and work collaboratively with the patient care team, including primary care and/or behavioral health providers, to promote health and disease management. This may include attending multi-disciplinary meetings as the nutrition expert.
   2. Act as a liaison between patients and health care providers, as needed, for continuation of quality service.
   3. Participate in meeting clinical quality measures of the health center, as they relate to nutrition.
   4. Participate in community health fairs and outreach events.
   5. Creation of nutritional resources, as needed.
   6. Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred; Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, or related field required
• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD)
• Licensed in the State of Texas or eligible within 60 days of hire
• Minimum 2 years of clinical experience
• Ability to engage with clients/patients in a culturally competent manner
• Computer proficiency, particularly with the Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED:

• Bilingual in English and Spanish
• Certified Diabetes Educator 
• BLS certified
• Experience with low income, multicultural and multilingual populations.
• Familiarity with electronic health record systems

JFS provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and veteran status, except in the case of those positions in which religion is, in the opinion of JFS, an essential factor.  Employment opportunities include but are not limited to recruitment, employment placement, promotion, demotion, transfer, termination, compensation, use of facilities and participation in JFS sponsored events.