Dietitian (Clinical)

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Dietitian Clinical Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration VA Puget Sound Health Care System Apply Print Save

Summary

This job is open to Duties Requirements How you will be evaluated Required documents How to apply

Summary

This Dietitian Clinical position is in the Clinical Section of Nutrition and Food Services NFS serving as the medical nutrition expert in primary care clinics. Clinical Dietitians coordinate nutritional care of Veterans with other health care providers, the Veteran, the Veterans caregiver, and the community. They interpret research and utilize whole health principles to develop patient-centered goals and improve outcomes.

Duties

• Conducts a comprehensive nutrition assessment utilizing the Nutrition Care Process NCP for assigned patients.
• Develops and implements an individualized plan for Medical Nutrition Therapy MNT in accordance with the patients medical program goals and objectives.
• Performs a Nutrition Focused Physical Exam NFPE during assessments to determine risk and/or degree of malnutrition.
• Calculates nutrient requirements, calories, protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, electrolytes, and fluids, and necessary diet modifications or food-drug interactions.
• Evaluates patterns and relationships among data obtained and possible root causes for nutrition problems.
• Tailors nutrition therapy to each individual patient according to physical and metabolic needs.
• With an understanding of the patients health condition, designs the nutritional treatment plan with consideration for psychosocial, behavioral, physical activity, ethnic, and cultural factors to obtain desirable outcomes and promote long-term adherence to a medical nutrition care plan.
• Prioritizes the importance of nutrition problems for optimal health, recovery from illness, management of chronic disease, or disease prevention.
• Utilizes evidenced-based nutrition practice guidelines and Whole Health Principles to develop shared goals with the patient and formulate a plan of care that is focused on the etiology of the nutrition problem.
• Actively supports veteran-centric food service operations with a food-forward approach through knowledge of computer software programs related to food service systems and through interfacing with the food service section to ensure patient satisfaction with meals, assisting in implementation of new initiatives, and acting as a liaison between clinical units and the food service section as applicable.
• Works cooperatively with foodservice staff to assure conformance to diet prescriptions as applicable.
• Identifies patients in need of nutritional support and recommends the appropriate mode of support, including suitable route, formula, and rate of administration.
• Provides initial and on-going nutritional assessment of patients receiving enteral EN and/or Parenteral nutrition PN.
• Orders labs, diets, and consults per Scope of Practice Clinical privileges.
• Evaluates and monitors the effectiveness and outcome of MNT interventions.
• Evaluates the patients response to care based on identified measurable outcomes and reviews the plan as appropriate.
• Documents nutrition care plan in the patients medical record, including nutrition assessment data, MNT initiated, and recommendations, results of nutrition counseling, patient consents, and discharge planning as appropriate.

Nutrition Education and Coordination of Care

• Assesses educational needs and provides nutrition education and counseling for individuals and groups incorporating a learning approach that considers the cultural, religious, educational, and medical situation of the patient.
• Includes information regarding budgeting, menu planning, food purchasing, and preparation, food storage, and sanitation.
• Utilizes motivational interviewing techniques to evaluate patient and/or caregiver readiness to learn and potential for changing behaviors.
• Evaluates achievement of learning objectives by the patient and/or family.
• Adapts nutrition education materials and counseling techniques to the patients level of understanding, which frequently involves simplifying complex dietary restrictions.
• Identifies drug-nutrient interactions and counsels and communicates with the patient regarding the impact on nutrition status and/or nutrient utilization.
• Utilizes virtual care technology, such as VA Video Connect VVC and Secure Messaging SM, to improve access to nutrition care.
• Provides follow-up nutrition education and counseling in accordance with the patients treatment goals and determines when a problem requires consultation or referral to another provider or service.
• Participates in planning and education of home nutrition support.

Work Schedule

• 730am - 4pm, Monday - Friday
• Telework Not Available
• Virtual This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12311959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable forms of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.

Conditions of Employment

• You must actively pursue meeting registration requirements starting from your appointment date.
• At the time of appointment, servicing Human Resources HR staff in collaboration with the supervisor will provide non-registered Dietitians the written requirement to obtain registration, the date by which they must acquire it, and the consequences for not doing so by the deadline.
• Failure to obtain registration within one year from the date of appointment will result in removal from the Dietitian GS-0630 occupation and may result in termination of employment.

Qualifications

• Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
• To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
• Basic Requirements:
• United States Citizenship
• Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Registration
• All applicants must hold the RDN credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration CDR, the credentialing agency of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Note: Applicants who hold the RDN credential have met the education requirement, e.g., bachelors degree or higher of CDR, as such this occupation is considered professional and scientific with a positive education requirement and the procedures in Part I, Chapter 4 of this Handbook will be followed when applying.
• Exception for Dietitians who do not possess the RDN credential.
• Non-credentialed Dietitians who meet the basic qualification requirements and have fulfilled the requirements below but do not possess the RDN credential may be given a temporary full-time appointment not to exceed one year under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405c2.
• Non-credentialed Dietitians must have fulfilled each of the following:
• Earned a bachelors or higher degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college university or foreign equivalent.
• Completed an ACEND accredited experiential or supervised practice program and provide a verification statement from the program director that conveys eligibility to take the CDR registration exam as a prospective RDN.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable college and/or university degrees earned outside the U.S. and its territories must be evaluated by ACEND and meet ACENDs International Dietitian Education standards, which are designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and competencies to sit for the CDR credentialing exam.
• Non-credentialed Dietitians may only be appointed at the GS-07 or GS-09 grade level and may not be promoted/converted until they obtain their RDN credential.
• Non-credentialed Dietitians must provide care under the supervision of a RDN at or above the full performance level.
• Temporary appointments of non-credentialed Dietitian will not be extended beyond one year or converted to a new temporary appointment.
• Failure to Obtain Registration. In all cases, Dietitians must actively pursue meeting registration requirements starting from their appointment date.
• English Language Proficiency. Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403f.

Grade Determinations

• Dietitian Clinical GS-07:
• Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
• Dietitian Clinical GS-09:
• Experience. At least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Education. Masters degree from a regionally accredited university or college.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Knowledge of various accrediting and regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of virtual technology to provide nutrition care.
• Ability to deliver patient care using the NCP, e.g., assessment, diagnosis, intervention, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Ability to apply evidence-based nutrition practices to improve patient outcomes.
• Ability to develop patient-centered goals.
• Ability to collect data for performance improvement studies.
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders.
• Dietitian Clinical GS-11:
• Experience. At least one year of experience as an RDN equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Skill in delivering patient care using the NCP, e.g., assessment, diagnosis, intervention, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Skill in interpreting research to apply evidence-based nutrition practices to improve patient outcomes.
• Skill in developing patient-centered goals.
• Skill in analyzing data for performance improvement studies.
• Skill in collaborating with stakeholders.
• Ability to comply with various accrediting, regulatory