Band 6 Specialist Dietitian (Gastro Renal Critial Care or HPB)

Job Description

Professionally Responsible to: Senior Specialist DietitianUltimately Accountable to: Dietetic Clinical Team LeaderUltimately Professionally Responsible to: Professional Head of Dietetic ServicesWard/Department: Allied Health ProfessionsBase: MRI/St Marys Hospital/Trafford General Hospital/Satellite UnitsJob Summary

• Provide an efficient and high quality specialised dietetic service for patients throughout specialist areas rotating between clinical areas.
• As an experienced autonomous practitioner assess, diagnose and treat patients on their own case load of inpatients and/or outpatients in individual and group settings.
• Supervise recently qualified dietitians, assistants and students.
• Participate in Continuing Professional Development, clinical audit and in-service training, and provide training for other staff.
• Be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of their professional and clinical work, working to agreed national and professional standards.

Main Duties/ResponsibilitiesClinical

• To undertake an individual comprehensive assessment of patients including those with diverse or complex presentations/multi-pathologies in order to identify their problems and needs and ensure that patients medical, biochemical, pharmacological, psychological,social and cultural factors are taken into account.
• To competently carry out full consultations with patients.
• To undertake accurate measurements to assess nutritional status and body composition including anthropometry, percent weight change, skin fold thickness, dynamometry, plotting growth charts, calculating height velocity and BMI/weight for height.
• Interpret treatment regimens, blood test results, fluid balance and stool charts for a range of disease states and monitor changes, adjusting dietary treatment if necessary to prevent under/over-nutrition.
• To be able to use own knowledge of food, and nutritional analysis packages to analyse food intake, recipes and tube feeds.
• To be able to accurately calculate nutritional requirements for specialist disease states.
• Using clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques:

- Identify the clinical problem/diagnose- Set appropriate treatment aims and objective in negotiation with the patient and multi- disciplinary team- Competently plan and carry out realistic programmes of treatment from a range of specialised therapeutic options for each patient using evidence based practice - Relate findings to presenting pathology

• To advise medical staff/GPs on the prescribing of appropriate products e.g. jejunostomy feeds, intravenous feeds, vitamins, minerals and specialist dietary products.
• To be able to give appropriate advice to ensure patients understanding, co-operation, compliance and consent.
• To be able to adapt style of communication if the patient has communication, cognitive or other problems that may create a barrier to communication affecting ultimate treatment outcomes.
• To facilitate safe and timely patient discharge and to determine outcome of dietetic management of the patient.
• To undertake defined specialist outpatient clinics such as renal, gastroenterology, paediatrics, head and neck surgery.
• To plan and prioritise own workload and that of more junior staff.
• Access advice and support from more senior dietitians as required as part of training and Continuing Professional Development.
• To communicate complex condition related information to clients, carers, other family members, members of the multidisciplinary team, Consultants and other professions and agencies, including recommending changes to drug prescriptions.
• To monitor and review dietetic care plans against outcome measures and adjust care plans to facilitate achievement of goals.
• To organise and attend patient related meetings e.g. case conferences, child protection meetings (where applicable), ward rounds and discharge planning meetings and patient review meetings, ensuring effective communication of the patients dietetic needsthus ensuring a well co-ordinated and comprehensive care plan, including discharge packages.
• To be able to give talks to groups of patients e.g. cancer support meetings, cardiac rehabilitation.

Keyskills :
Communication SkillsDieteticsFlexibilityGastroenterologyWorking Team