Renal Dietitian
Supervisor:
Facility Administrator/CEO
Job Summary:
The Renal Dietitian is responsible for providing ongoing care for all nutrition aspects of ESRD patients.
Qualifications:
o Registered Dietitian with the Commission on Dietetic Registration
o Minimum one year clinical experience as a Registered Dietitian
o Licensed in states where licensure is available.
Job Specific Accountabilities:
The statements below describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this role. They are not intended to be a complete list of all duties, and additional responsibilities may be delegated as required.
4. Orient new patient and family member or significant other as appropriate to nutritional care for the dialysis patient.
§ Performs an initial nutritional component to the Interdisciplinary Assessment and Care Plan for each new ESRD patient within 30 days of admission or 90 days for transfers. Instructs the patient and family member or significant other in diet restrictions as prescribed by the physician. Ensures that the ESRD patient understands the prescribed diet.
§ Encourages the patient to comply with the diet as prescribed while teaching the patient the significance of outcomes relative to on-going health and stability.
§ Cooperates with attending physicians in ongoing evaluation of patients’ nutritional needs and recommends necessary changes in therapeutic diets.
§ Works with other team members in making necessary arrangements for nutritional support (e.g. meals on wheels, nutritional supplements).
§ Educate patients and their families on an on-going basis regarding elements of prescribed diets based on lab outcome data and other physiological parameters.
§ Monitors and documents adherence and response to diets; emphasis is placed on outcome measures relevant to nutritional status.
5. Record Keeping
§ Responsible for making entries in the patient’s medical record in accordance with the requirements as established in the Medicare Conditions of Coverage as a minimum.
§ Care Plans are reviewed at least annually for stable patients and monthly for unstable patients. The Care Plan must be developed within 15 days of the Interdisciplinary Assessment.
6. Communication with Others
§ Attends patient care conferences and staff meetings on a regular basis.
§ Participates as a member of the facility’s Continuous Quality Improvement committee.
§ Participates, when necessary, in individual patient-family conferences, along with the Medical Director or attending physician and social worker.
§ Conducts in-service training for dialysis staff and patient education programs as necessary.
Core Competencies:
Employees must consistently exhibit behaviors that enhance professional conduct and reflect the core values, standards of conduct and business ethics, work rules, values and philosophy of Pure Life Renal.
7. TECHNICAL/PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE: Achieving satisfactory level of technical and professional skill and knowledge in position-related areas; keeping up with current developments and trends in areas of expertise.
8. COMMUNICATION/TEAMWORK: Works effectively with others toward common goals.Uses effective communication strategies with co-workers to achieve acceptable outcomes and resolve issues.
9. QUALITY OF WORK: Accomplishing tasks by considering all areas involved; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks; being watchful over a period of time.
10. PATIENT FOCUS: Effectively meeting patients’ needs; building productive patient relationships; taking the responsibility for patient satisfaction.
11. CONFIDENTIALITY: Maintains confidentiality of patient medical and personal information.
12. SAFETY: Demonstrates knowledge of and follows safety practices. Understands the importance of safety in the workplace.
13. DEPENDABILITY/RELIABILITY: Accepts assignments willingly and ensures thorough and timely completion with minimum supervision. Adapts to changes in workload and job demands to maintain goals. Meets attendance and punctuality expectations.
14. ETHICS/INTEGRITY: Demonstrates the ability to conduct business processes in a fair manner, compliant with company and regulatory agencies policies and requirements.
Position Demands:
Physical: Essential Function
o Work is active; requires frequent lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs., for assisting with patient lifts and transfers and moving pieces of equipment and supplies.
o Requires long periods of standing and walking, as well as frequently sitting, reaching at or above shoulder height, twisting and stooping/bending to perform patient care duties.
o Finger and hand dexterity adequate to handle and manipulate equipment, instruments, keyboarding, telephone systems.
o Hearing and vision acuity adequate to detect changes in equipment and detect machine alarms.
Temperament:
o Able to alter plans/routines when unexpected, stressful situations and multiple interruptions occur without projecting stress/frustrations that would adversely affect the work environment.
o Maintains professionalism and confidentiality with socially challenging situations and problems.
o Notify and offer immediate solutions for potential threatening, belligerent, or emotional situations involving disconcerted employees, patients and/or patient families.
o Able to perform multiple tasks simultaneously in an efficient and calm manner.
Work Hazards:
o Exposure to chemicals used within the facility (Renalin, Bleach and Acidified Concentrate; refer to MSDS for other chemicals used within the facility).
o Exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials (ongoing training provided for employee safety).