Nutritionist RD

Registered Dietitian (RD)

Sea Mar Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) founded in 1978, is a community-based organization committed to providing quality, comprehensive health, human, housing, educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington State. Sea Mar proudly serves all persons without regard to race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, or sexual orientation, and regardless of ability to pay for services. Sea Mar's network of services includes more than 90 medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics and a wide variety of nutritional, social, and educational services. We are recruiting for the following position:

Position Summary

The Registered Dietitian (RD) is responsible for Nutrition high risk counseling and assisting with the WIC certification process if serving at a WIC site. The RD may also provide patient risk assessment, nutrition education, and nutrition services for patients of the Medical Clinics, Home Health Agency, MSS, and Substance Abuse Treatment Centers.

Duties and Responsibilities

As a mission-driven organization, the core values of, and the services offered at Sea Mar are based on the belief that everyone deserves to be respectfully treated in a way that preserves dignity and enhances self-worth. Sea Mar is an advocate for its clients and aims to achieve industry-leading, client-centered, culturally-aware services.

Sea Mar employees serve as an extension of this mission and demonstrate their commitment to an excellent client experience by:

• Understanding and empathizing with client needs
• Surpassing client expectations
• Demonstrating a high level of integrity
• Exhibiting compassion and commitment
• Advocating for social justice
• Taking pride in individual work as well as that of the team
• Continually learning to stay current with industry standards, best practices and technology

As a Sea Mar employee, the individual in this position commits to adherence to these values to their utmost ability and endeavors to strengthen and embody this mission daily.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following listed below. The RD may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

ADMINISTRATIVE

• Maintains complete and up-to-date charts (documenting counseling session as specified by program guidelines in legible form), and statistical program records but not limited to: EPIC records, WIC flow sheet, WIC diet records, certification sheets weight/height grids, diet evaluation sheets, infant birth outcomes, appointment schedules and encounter forms.
• Establishes and maintains professional working relationships with team members and other Sea Mar staff. Serves as a liaison between Nutrition and/or WIC and other clinic and community services and makes referrals as appropriate.
• Assists with the clerical and statistical program work as needed.
• Attends selected clinic, MSS, PHS Department and WIC meetings and participates in continuing education as needed.
• Acts as a preceptor for dietetic interns, as appropriate.
• The Registered Dietician shall follow all organizational and departmental policies and procedures.

CLINICAL Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)

• Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span.
• Able to identify and categorize each patient's age-specific grouping needs, such as those for infant, adolescent, or geriatric patients.
• Interviews clients from diverse populations, reviews and documents client history, anthropometric and laboratory data, and reviews current eating habits.
• Uses standard assessment tools and follows department policies and practices to perform screening procedures such as weighing and measuring, taking hematocrits, plotting growth grids, and reviewing dietary evaluations.
• Maintains patient rights and confidentiality: documents vendor and participant complaints and infractions.
• Provides program orientation, nutrition requirements, and assists in scheduling client appointments, considering all programmatic and client needs.
• Provides individual and group nutrition education according to program guidelines, utilizing client appropriate methods and materials.
• Provides Medical, MSS, and patient nutritional assessment and nutrition counseling. Facilitates appointment time through scheduling and following up on failed appointments according to protocol, coordinates services with other health professionals, and cooperates with other departments. Documents assessment, treatment, and plan of action from counseling session in Medical record according to protocol.

WIC

• Compares information collected to program criteria to accurately determine WIC eligibility and nutrition risk factors.
• Determines appropriate food package, explains nutrient content of WIC foods, identifies contracted food vendor, issues manual or computerized food benefits and documents benefit issuance.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• This person must sign an oath of permanent confidentiality covering all patient-related information.
• This person must have a clear background check.
• Must have and maintain a TB test annually.
• This position must obtain Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR within 90 days of hire date and is required to maintain current BLS CPR throughout employment.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Works efficiently with self-direction. Proactively solves problems.
• Possess ability to deal patiently and empathetically with multicultural clientele, even under stressful conditions.
• Demonstrate ability to work cooperatively as a member of the health care team.
• Positive attitude, personal flexibility and the ability to prioritize is essential.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Possess an ability to read, to analyze, and to interpret professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Also demonstrate ability to write medical chart notes as well as reports requested by the WIC Coordinator and/or the Nutrition Program Manager.
• Possess the ability to develop and write nutrition education materials, provide information through effective presentations and respond to questions from groups of staff, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish or other as identified by patient need) or bicultural preferred.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Possess ability to add, to subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Possess ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY

• Possess ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Possess ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Education, Certificates, Licenses, Registrations, and Medical Screening

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Possess a Bachelor's or Master's degree in nutrition from an accredited university.
• Completed an accredited dietetic internship program or Coordinated Undergraduate Program in Dietetics.
• WA State Registration and Certification for Dietitian or RD/CD eligible with attainment of these credentials within time period stated in the Sea Mar Nutrition Program Policies and Procedures Manual.
• The experience should reveal demonstrated interest in nutrition services and nutrition education.
• Experience in community nutrition setting with an interest in basic nutrition and childhood development is desirable.

Additional Requirements

• Pre-hire and annual employee health screening required
• Annual influenza vaccine required. Only exception is for employees with a medical or religious exemption approved by Administration. Employees with an approved medical or religious exemption must wear a mask at all times during the flu season.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Owns or has access to an insured vehicle for home visits and performance of duties at various Sea Mar locations. Able to work flexible hours, as the clientele requires. Able to travel within Western Washington in a timely manner performing work described above.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to moderately high.