Pediatric Nutrition Specialist

Overview

**This position is eligible for a $10,000 sign on bonus.

Position Summary

The role involves delivering nutrition services and engaging in departmental performance enhancement initiatives, ensuring adherence to the standards and timelines of the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist Clinical Ladder. The focus is on achieving patient/client satisfaction, maintaining quality care, ensuring compliance with regulatory agencies, and fostering positive public relations through the efficient and safe utilization of resources.

As a member of the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute's Pediatric Cardiology HEARTest Yard team, this dietitian will oversee the nutritional requirements for the outpatient Neurodevelopmental clinic, manage the care of interstage complex congenital heart infants, and support the infant home nasogastric tube program. Collaborating professionals include a Pediatric Cardiologist, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, Registered Dietitian, Speech Language Pathologist, and Social Worker.

Key Responsibilities

- Evaluate and monitor the nutritional status of patients/clients, adjusting nutritional care as necessary based on current scientific literature and correlating this information with medical status, anthropometric data, clinical assessments, and nutrition evaluations.

- Deliver medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and counseling, which includes assessment and education, developing, monitoring, and implementing MNT/counseling for patients/clients in designated areas. Complete consults and referrals as they arise.

- Collaborate with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to integrate nutrition into a comprehensive patient/client therapy program.

- Ensure all necessary documentation is completed in a timely, professional, and thorough manner, including nutritional care plans, assessments, consultations, nutrient intake analyses, and patient/client education.

- Assess the effectiveness of patient/client and family education, developing and utilizing suitable educational materials. Identify learning needs using methods appropriate to each learner's developmental and educational level, and evaluate and document learner responses to teaching.

- Provide and develop periodic in-services on selected topics for team members and other disciplines as requested. In-service development for residents and attending physicians will be supervised by the clinical manager or designee.

- Under the guidance of the manager or designee, participate in basic skills orientation, training, and mentoring of team members and dietetic interns as applicable.

- Educate and share findings from nutrition research with medical team members, nursing staff, pharmacy, patients, and the public.

- Communicate with multidisciplinary departments regarding patient/client care and issues, including providing performance feedback on personnel when requested or applicable to ensure standards of excellence are met for customer satisfaction.

Qualifications

- Minimum of 1 year of clinical pediatric experience is preferred.

- Certification as a Lactation Counselor or Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition is preferred.

Physical Requirements

- Ability to engage in continuous verbal communication and read written communications consistently, both in hard copy and on a computer screen. Must be able to compose written communications frequently. Capable of lifting and carrying objects weighing 25 pounds or less occasionally, and performing motor skills such as reaching out/up. Frequent periods of walking, standing, and sitting, with infrequent squatting, twisting, and bending.

Education, Experience, and Certifications

- A Bachelor's degree is required. RD/LDN registry eligibility or Registered Dietitian (Commission on Dietetic Registration) and licensure by the NC Board of Dietetics and Nutrition are required. If RD/LDN registry eligible, RD/LDN registration is required within 4 months of hire. Specialty certification (i.e., CDCES, CNSC, AND Certifications) may be required, as determined by department managers based on the position's requirements and the timeframe needed to obtain them.

Patient Population Served

- Demonstrates knowledge of growth and development principles and possesses the skills and competency appropriate to the ages, culture, developmental stages, and special needs of the population served.