Clinical Dietitian (45907)

Under general supervision of the Director of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Clinical Dietitian independently plans, develops and directs nutritional care activities for patients, including those with complex medical and nutritional needs. The Clinical Dietitian may provide nutritional care to patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting. The Clinical Dietitian supports WIHCC's mission and coordinates nutritional care with other health care providers, the patient, the patient's family, and the community. Upholds the principles of WIHCC's Vision, Mission, and Value Statements. Maintains confidentiality of all privileged information at all times.

This list of duties and responsibilities is illustrative only of the tasks performed by this position and is not all-inclusive.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Conducts a comprehensive nutrition assessment utilizing the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) for assigned patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
• Develops and implements an individualized plan for Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) in accordance with the patient's 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) when appropriate and determines necessary diet restrictions or food/drug interactions.
• Evaluates patterns and relationships among data obtained and possible root causes for nutrition problems.
• Tailors diet prescription to each individual patient according to physical and metabolic needs.
• Understands of the patient's 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 to develop shared goals with the patient and formulate a plan of care that is focused on the etiology of the nutrition problem.
• Assess educational needs and provides nutrition education/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's readiness to learn and potential for changing behavior.
• Evaluates achievement of learning objectives by the patient and/or family. Adapts nutrition education materials and counseling techniques to the patient's level of understanding, which frequently involves simplifying complex dietary restrictions.
• Identifies drug-nutrient interactions and drug-drug incompatibilities and counsels / communicates with the patient regarding the impact on nutrition status and/or nutrient utilization.
• Utilizes telenutrition technology and Secure messaging (SMS) to improve access to nutrition care.
• Provides follow-up nutrition education/counseling in accordance with the patient's treatment goals and determines when a problem requires consultation or referral to another provider or service.
• Actively supports food service operations to ensure patient satisfaction with meals and serve as a liaison between patients, clinical staff, and the diet office.
• Works cooperatively with foodservice staff to assure conformance to diet prescriptions.
• Conducts in-service trainings and presentations to food service and clinical staff.
• Maintains regular attendance and punctuality.
• Requires completion of tasks or duties assigned by a supervisor.
• Upholds all principles of confidentiality and patient care to the fullest extent.
• Adheres to all professional and ethical behavior standards of the healthcare industry.
• Adheres to WIHCCs Personnel Policies and Procedures, departmental policies, rules, and regulations.
• Interacts in an honest, trustworthy and dependable manner with patients, employees, visitors, and vendors.
• Possesses cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Maintains compliance with all Human Resources requirements.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university or foreign equivalent is required. Must fulfill the following criteria: Completion of a didactic program in dietetics accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and an ACEND accredited or approved supervised practice program. Completion of an ACEND accredited coordinated program in dietetics or graduate program in nutrition and dietetics fulfills the didactic and supervised practice program requirements. A Master's degree and two years clinical experience is preferred. Time spent in a dietetic internship or supervised practice program does not qualify as creditable experience. Must be registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Must currently possess a Food Handler's Card.

Bilingual skills in English and Navajo language preferred. Must maintain a valid unrestricted and insurable driver's license. Must successfully pass a background investigation and maintain suitable requirements for a Child Care position. This position is considered as a Child Care position, which requires a satisfactory background check investigation and is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, as amended (henceforth referred as the ICPFVP Act).

Knowledge, Skills, Ability

• Knowledge of dietetics best practices in the dietetics profession and in scientific literature, including knowledge of research methods, study design, data collection, interpretation of findings, and translation of results into nutrition practice.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of nutrition care and the treatment of complex cases in clinical settings in order to develop, implement and coordinate best practices in the dietetics profession (e.g. assessment, diagnosis, intervention, monitoring and evaluation).
• Knowledge of best practices in areas of clinical nutrition and the ability to apply nutrition interventions to patients with multiple co-morbidities.
• Knowledge of strong work ethics in the workplace.
• Knowledge of basic application of confidentiality.
• Knowledge of duties and responsibilities of the position.
• Knowledge of basic computer skills, e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Ability to comply with various accrediting, regulatory, and agency authorities.
• Ability to develop and maintain a system of internal reviews and direct quality control and performance improvement studies.
• Ability to be dependable in attendance and job performance.
• Ability to act as a consultant for health care providers including registered dietetic technicians, dietetic interns, nurses, physicians, medical students, and allied health professionals.
• Ability to meet attendance, overtime (if necessary), and other reliability requirements of the job.
• Ability to accept and learn from feedback.
• Ability to effectively communicate both in written and verbal.
• Ability to provide exemplary customer service at all times.
• Ability to interact positively with others and possess great interpersonal skills.
• Ability to multitask and perform well under pressure.
• Ability to have self-confidence.
• Ability to be a great team player.
• Ability to accept and learn from supervisor/peer critique.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the organization.

Physical Demands:

While performing the essential functions of this position, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit, use hands and fingers, handle, or feel objects and equipment, reach with hands and arms, and communicate effectively by talking and hearing. The employee frequently must stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and may occasionally use taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 50 pounds.


Work Environment:

Work is performed in an office setting or outdoor work environment with moderate noise levels. Work environment may involve exposure to physical risks, such as blood borne pathogens, hazardous chemicals, or operating potential dangerous equipment, and requires adherence to all safety protocols. Required work schedules may include evening, weekend, overnight shifts, extended hours, or irregular schedules as operational needs dictate.


As required by P.L. 93-638, absolute preference will be given to qualified Navajo applicants. If there is no qualified Navajo applicant, preference will be given to qualified American Indian applicants.