Dietitian

Overview

Directs, plans, and manages the development and implementation of clinical nutrition and operational quality standards for both inpatient and/or outpatient nutrition services. Collaborates with hospital administration, medical staff, nursing, and other allied health care professionals at both the system and site level. Serves as the site nutrition expert on all nutrition-related matters.

Actively participates in the Advocate Health Midwest Region Clinical Nutrition Committee (CNC) to design, develop, implement, and evaluate new clinical practices and programs. Communicates and implements new clinical initiatives. Provides leadership for all aspects of clinical nutrition care and education. Effectively implements practices and initiatives to promote the established region standards of clinical excellence.

Routinely monitors clinical dietitian documentation for elements of the Global Malnutrition Composite Score (GMCS) for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nutrition Electronic Quality Indicators. Develops site-based nutrition Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QAPI) efforts to ensure nutrition care is safe and effective for patients. Develops and implements action plans for any quality indicator not meeting goal.

Ensures department clinical standards comply with safety initiatives, policies, procedures, DNV regulations, and department standards and/or local health department regulations. Plans, directs and supervises the development, implementation, maintenance and evaluation of a comprehensive nutrition-focused Continuous Quality Improvement program.

Assists in hiring and onboarding a skilled clinical nutrition staff capable of providing essential nutrition care to patients, in compliance with the standards set by the department, hospital, DNV and other regulatory agencies. Annually evaluates competency of clinical dietitians per system-established competency standards. Provides training and feedback to clinical dietitians and other Food and Nutrition teammates, as applicable. Provides input on performance reviews.

Oversees and participates in ongoing Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) care for entire hospital inpatient census, through screening, prioritizing, assessing, and recommending interventions. Maximizes efficiencies of clinical nutrition team to balance workloads due to fluctuations in census, consults, acuity, staffing challenges.

Ensures competency of clinical nutrition team to perform Nutrition Focused Physical Examinations of high-risk patients to evaluate the loss of specific muscles and subcutaneous body fat to determine the presence of and degree of malnutrition to improve patient outcomes and to positively impact inpatient readmission rates.

Coordinates site didactic internship program with approved partners. Schedules and onboards dietetic interns. Completes evaluations and provides coaching to internship participants. Ensures internship experience provided by the site meets or exceeds clinical competencies as set forth by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Communicates regularly with didactic program coordinator to provide feedback on intern performance.

Reviews and revises clinical nutrition policies and standard works to ensure that they are consistent with current practices. Updates electronic document system to reflect all changes in a timely manner.

• Directs, plans, and manages the development and implementation of clinical nutrition and operational quality standards for both inpatient and/or outpatient nutrition services. Collaborates with hospital administration, medical staff, nursing, and other allied health care professionals at both the system and site level. Serves as the site nutrition expert on all nutrition-related matters.
• Actively participates in the Advocate Health Midwest Region Clinical Nutrition Committee (CNC) to design, develop, implement, and evaluate new clinical practices and programs. Communicates and implements new clinical initiatives. Provides leadership for all aspects of clinical nutrition care and education. Effectively implements practices and initiatives to promote…