Nutritionist, Surgery

Position Summary

Provide nutritional care to bariatric surgery patients before and after surgery and nutritional care for GI patients.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Other duties may be assigned.

CLINICAL PRACTICE

• Interviews patients to assess nutritional status and dietary needs.


• Advises appropriate nutrition intervention.


• Develops an individualized diet for each patient.


• Communicates instructions to patients and/or caretakers.


• Documents assessment of nutrition status and plan of care before the surgery and for a determined number of visits’ after surgery.


• Develops teaching materials as needed for patient education


• Develops methods of evaluating the achievement of nutrition education objectives


• Provides nutrition lectures to staff and regularly at bariatric surgery support group meetings

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

• Establishes and maintains Medical Staff rapport.


• Works closely with interdisciplinary staff on a plan of care.


• Demonstrates effective organization of tasks and resources.


• Demonstrates leadership skills through cooperation and teamwork.


• Provides complete, timely, and accurate communication at all levels of the organization.


• Attends scheduled meetings


• Participates on committees as assigned

GI/NUTRITION SPECIALTY CLINIC

• Duties may potentially include nutrition assessment, assisting the MD/nutritionist in formulating enteral and parenteral nutrition regimens for malnourished patients, and counseling patients regarding their prescribed nutrition support regimen.


• The RD/nutritionist will serve as a liaison with the home care/nursing companies and will collect data regarding patient tolerance of nutrition support, weight, height, and other anthropometric data, and other information to assist the MD nutritionist in prescribing an appropriate nutrition support regimen for each patient.

NON-GI OUTPATIENT CLINICS

• Facilitate the transition from inpatient to outpatient nutrition support


• Be available to assist the patient in making the transition between inpatient and outpatient enteral or parenteral nutrition


• Responsibilities include serving as a liaison with home care companies, patient teaching (management of enteral nutrition), collecting data regarding tolerance of feedings for discussion with  the MD nutritionist

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree, or higher, in Human Nutrition from an accredited college or university is required


• Successful completion of a dietetic internship or coordinated undergraduate dietetic program is necessary.


• Licensed and registered to work as a Registered Dietician in the District of Columbia is required.


• Current certification from the Commission of Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Assoc. (CDRADE) are necessary.


• Certification by the National Board of Nutrition Support (attaining the Certified Nutrition Support Dietitian designation) is desirable

Experience

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  Evidence of qualifying work experience

  
  
  
  
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    A minimum of 2 years of clinical experience in the provision of outpatient and inpatient services is preferred

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  Familiarity with counseling patients with a wide variety of medical conditions, including cardiac, renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and endocrine disease (particularly diabetes mellitus)

  
  


• Some prior experience in working with patients during pregnancy