Dietitian

The Clinical Dietitian is to collaborate with members of the health care team to provide medical nutrition therapy, identify patients at high nutrition risk based on criteria outlined by SCH policies, assess nutrition needs, and identify nutrient requirements according to age and disease-specific needs of patients, and develop and implement the nutrition care plan for all assigned patients.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Performs nutritional screening and comprehensive nutritional assessment.

• Develops, facilitates, and evaluates the nutritional care plan for all assigned patients.

• Provides medical nutrition therapy to patients receiving enteral nutrition support.

• Monitors patients receiving parenteral nutrition, assists with management as needed and provides recommendations for transitional feedings.

• Provides nutrition and diabetes education and counseling to individual inpatients/outpatients, as well as groups.

• Serves as a resource for reliable nutrition information to the SCH Staff and promotes interdisciplinary teamwork within the organization.

• Serves as a preceptor/community-based faculty for dietetic interns/students.

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college/university and completion of an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited Dietetic Internship

Experience:

Must be RD Eligible. This is defined as successful completion of a degree in Dietetics and Internship, as above, and thus eligibility to sit for the Registration Exam for Dietitians administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). One year of experience as a clinical dietitian in an acute care hospital setting is preferred, with a strong diabetes education background

Licensure/Certification:

Registered Dietitian (RD)/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)—Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Licensed Dietitian (LD)—Kentucky Board of Licensure and Certification for Dietitians and Nutritionists.

SCH will consider RD Eligible dietitians for hire as a Clinical Dietitian. They must be supervised and co-signed by an RD/RDN until the above credentials are achieved. An RD Eligible dietitian will remain on probation until he/she passes the RD exam and obtains a valid KY license within a period no more significant than six months from the hire date

Clinical Dietitians are encouraged to become a Certified Diabetes Educator (C.D.E)—National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators. Diabetes Educators must also be licensed in the State of Kentucky—L.D.E or M.L.D.E—Kentucky Board of Licensure for Diabetes Educators