Clinical Dietitian II

Work Shift

Day

Scheduled Weekly Hours

16

Summary

This position supports Mercy's philosophy of patient centered care by enhancing the health of our patients and community by optimizing nutritional care through education and Medical Nutrition Therapy. The Clinical Dietitian II serves as an active member of the interdisciplinary team to identify clinical needs, implement interventions and provide education. The Clinical Dietitian II assumes accountability for self-development, following policies and procedures and meeting regulatory requirements. They serve as a role model and mentor to other clinical staff, are involved in the development and implementation of policies, procedures, educational materials and outcome measures.

Job Description

Job Duties

• Assess patient needs, provide interventions and document in patient's medical record for care provided.
• Participate in care conferences, on assigned areas, and in regular contact with nurses and the interdisciplinary team.
• Counsel patients on nutritional care and needs, in assigned area, in accordance to policies and procedures.
• Develop and implement nutrition materials and programs to persons of all ages in the hospital or community including chronic disease clinics, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab, and weight management classes.
• Present educational in-services to healthcare peers.
• Using Medical Nutrition Therapy, provide nutrition education to patients and/or families based on diagnosis.
• Follows Mercy's safety guidelines, carries out job-specific safety duties and responsibilities, and promptly reports any unsafe conditions, situations, incidents and injuries.

Department Specific Duties

Food & Nutritional Services

• Understand/interpret reimbursement and funding for outpatient counseling.
• Collaborate with appropriate Mercy Medical Center staff to secure grants for outpatient programing.
• Collaborate with peers, disease specific, patient education within the continuum of care.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Good working knowledge of normal nutrition and diet therapy.
• Ability to do patient nutritional assessment and to implement nutrition interventions.
• Good judgment in problem solving and planning of patient care.
• Maintains positive attitude in work environment and manages personal frustrations in a professional manner.
• Demonstrates competency in specific skills as identified in the position core Competency and the annual competency.
• Knowledge of the Nutrition Care Process as it relates to the nutrition needs of the patients and ability to apply all steps of the process.
• Knowledge of the Assessment, Data, Intervention, Monitoring and Evaluation (ADIME) charting format.
• Basic working knowledge of computer usage in the workplace and good verbal/writing skills.

Professional Experience

• One year of clinical nutrition experience preferred

Education

• Education sufficient to obtain certification as a Registered Dietician with the Commission of Dietetic Registration required.
• Meets continuing education requirements for Commission on Dietetic Registration and Iowa licensure required.

Licensure, Certification, Registration

• Certified as a Registered Dietitian or registration/examination eligible by the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR), and Dietetic licensure in the state of Iowa required. If registration/examination eligible by CDR, registration and licensure must be obtained within 6 months of hire.
• Iowa Dependent Adult Abuse & Iowa Child Abuse Mandatory Reporter training required. Employee must submit certification of completed training to Human Resources prior to start or transfer date.

Physical Requirements

Light: Exert up to 20 lbs. of force occasionally and/or up to 10 lbs. of force frequently

Pay Rate Type

Hourly

Mercy is an independent, community-based organization supporting the Cedar Rapids area for over 120 years.

Mercy is an equal-opportunity employer. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion and therefore evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, civil union status, parental status, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.