Senior Nutritionist

As a Senior Nutritionist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, you will be responsible for providing medical nutrition therapy and counseling services to oncology patients and their families. This includes conducting individual and group sessions to educate and facilitate maximum nutritional compliance and intervention toward optimal treatment outcomes.

You will maintain good rapport and effective working relationships with patients and their families, physicians, nurses, managers, administration, and the media. You will also interview patients and their families, review information obtained from medical records and/or health care providers, and assess and evaluate social, financial, environmental, and medical factors impacting nutrition status.

Developing nutrition care plans utilizing clinical, biochemical, and socio-economic factors is a key responsibility, as well as determining optimum feeding routes, techniques, substrates, and nutrient formulations. You will document and communicate nutrition care plans and progress through written and verbal systems, including medical records and discussion on patient-care rounds.

As a team member, you will participate in conferences/rounds on behalf of patients with other health care providers, collaborate with case managers for continuing care plans, and communicate to patient care staff any nutritional problems that may affect a patient's response to overall medical care and treatment.

You will participate in the development and implementation of programmatic planning of ambulatory oncology nutrition services for adult patients. This includes representing the Department of Nutrition and the Nutrition Consultation Service on committees as assigned within the DF/BW CC at SSH.

You will also participate in the development of policies and procedures related to nutrition care of ambulatory oncology patients and their families for JCAHO, Department of Health, research protocols, the Hospital, and the Department, as well as for specific disease-based clinics.

Collecting and reporting productivity data related to patient volume and referral statistics and fiscal recovery is another key responsibility, as well as assessing nutritional composition and clinical efficacy of new products and supplements, alternative/complementary products or diets.

You will plan, coordinate, teach dietetic interns current nutrition guidelines and recommendations for oncology patients, supervise dietetic interns as assigned, and develop and present formal and informal presentations on oncological nutrition to the DF/BW CC at SSH staff, colleagues, and students.

You will also represent the DF/BW CC at SSH to physicians, dietitians, nurses, and pharmacists outside the institution by participating in educational programs and activities, serve as a mentor to less experienced staff, and foster team work to promote cooperation and support for patient care activities.

Educating health care professionals as to the goals of and methods for the provision of medical nutrition therapy to various ambulatory patient populations is a key responsibility, as well as developing and presenting group education classes in specialized areas to hospital staff, professional organizations, the community at large, media, and/or contract institutions.