Specialist Community Dietitian

Job responsibilities

• To work as part of a team of community dietitians, providing a high quality, evidence-based dietetic service to patients in the community.
• To provide high quality, evidenced-based advice and support to patients and their carers in the community, predominately via telephone clinics based in our office in the Rodney Road Centre.
• To teach, support and supervise students and other members of the department of dietetics as directed by the head of service.
• To participate in audit and service evaluation.

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical/Professional

• Provision of community dietetic service in general outpatient clinics to patients referred by GPs, consultants, and other healthcare professionals. The clinics will predominately be telephone clinics, based at the Rodney Road Centre. These will include Home Enteral Feed (HEF) patient reviews, patients requiring nutritional support and other general dietetic advice such as first line IBS advice.
• To work unsupervised and to autonomously assess, implement and evaluate nutritional care for diverse medical conditions. To use scales and measurement devices accurately. To provide the above with specialist expertise underpinned by theory, practical experience and governance. The care will encompass assessment, implementation and monitoring and be conducted in a patient centred manner observing Trust guidelines for lone working. In all cases liaison will occur with relevant health professionals, both hospital and community based, via reports / communication regarding the patients care.
• To work at all times as part of the larger community (NHS and non-NHS) structure to implement, achieve and evaluate the above. To build and sustain effective communications with other in shared services e.g. local council, education.
• To develop and raise the profile of Nutrition and Dietetics within specified areas, working in an advisory capacity to all appropriate professions/staff groups within the Trust and externally.
• To ensure that the nutritional and special diet needs of patients/clients are met through expert advice to catering managers and food providers on prevailing standards for menus and special diets.
• To achieve objectives set in conjunction with Lead Community Dietitian, proactively and positively as part of team and as an individual providing statistics and reports as required.
• To contribute as a team member to meeting the service level agreement set by Portsmouth Hospital Trust with neighbouring NHS Trusts.
• To undertake relevant personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the job, ensure safe practice and maintain and continuously improve specialist knowledge and skill level.
• To undertake relief, specific and other duties as relevant to the post as directed by the Lead Community Dietitian.
• Ensuring that accurate and timely dietetic records are maintained, monitoring standards and taking corrective action as required.

Management/Leadership

• Contribute to the department pay and non-pay budgets by ensuring good housekeeping, economic and sustainable use of resources.

Research

• To be included in quality initiatives, relevant audit and evaluation of the job role within the department in the wider Trust. To undertake the above, when necessary, as part of the neighbouring NHS Trusts.

Education

• Create an environment that is conducive to learning and encourage team openness so that an evidence-based approach is utilised and applied.
• Act as a mentor and coach for dietitians, support staff and other healthcare staff.
• To work with the specialist community dietitians to develop and select materials e.g. diet sheets, advice sheets to ensure appropriate literature, resources for patients are available.
• Responsible for ensuring that Trust requirement for mandatory/essential training is completed.
• To ensure that the dietitians expertise is seen as a resource within and outside the Trust and form working partnerships with other key stakeholders and health and social care service providers.

Communication and Working Relations

• Provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious clinical and personal data/information, treating this in line with trust information governance policy.
• Use highly developed interpersonal verbal and non-verbal counselling skills to overcome significant barriers to nutritional care and in dealing with sometimes distressing diagnoses and symptoms.
• Communicate sensitively, compassionately and effectively with patients, carers, relatives and other professionals in situations that may be emotive.
• Establish robust communication channels with other professionals to facilitate effective dietetic intervention and continuity of care, for example for enteral tube feeding and liaising with the acute dietetics service, dietetic teams from other trusts and other health professionals.
• Responsible for recording personally generated information regarding patients e.g. written and electronic records, reports and activity data in accordance with professional and local standards. To keep patient records and record information on case notes/care plans as per Department/Trust procedures.
• Concentrate while undertaking work that is not always predictable. With competing demands for attention, prioritise workload and manage interruptions relating to patient care.

Working Conditions and Effort

• May be exposed to distressing circumstances (e.g. working with patients who are given distressing diagnoses) and/or exposed to other conditions.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree/Diploma in Dietetics.
• HCPC Registered Dietitian.
• Evidence of professional development or commitment to postgraduate study.

Desirable

• Member of the British Dietetic Association.
• Motivational interviewing or behaviour change training.

Experience

Essential

• Experience in undertaking autonomous assessment of complex people, particularly in mental health, considering medical, social, cultural and psychological factors. Assessment to include biochemical data, anthropometrical data, clinical condition and dietary history.

Desirable

• 2+ years postgraduate experience preferably in community dietetics, including HEF and nutrition support.
• Experience of peer supervision and/or supervision of junior dietetic staff.
• Experience of team working.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Competent practitioner with well-developed clinical and reasoning skills.
• Establish effective communication to overcome specific barriers such as language / disability / ethnicity / religion / cognitive ability / challenging behaviour.
• Able to identify and consider barriers to understanding and employs appropriate methods to ensure effective communication.
• Demonstrate ability to communicate difficult information to patients and carers with empathy and reassurance where appropriate.
• Provide emotional support to patients and carers.
• Actively and effectively participate in team meetings within specialism and wider colleagues and managers.
• Excellent presentation skills .
• Evidence of analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced clinical reasoning skills, including knowledge of behaviour change.
• Maintain confidential and comprehensive patient records in accordance with their professional body and the Trusts Record Keeping guidelines.
• Evidence of recent service improvement work.
• Competent in use of Microsoft word, excel and outlook.

Desirable

• To be able to demonstrate expert knowledge of behaviour change interventions and motivational interviewing strategies.
• Able to drive and access to a car.

Personal Details

Essential

• Confident, self-motivated, flexible, adaptive and creative.
• Ability to demonstrate advanced communication skills including confidence within the MDT.
• Able to prioritise and self-manage within a team environment.
• Responsible, reliable and strives for efficiency.
• Knows own limitations and willing to seek and provide support/guidance within the dietetic team.
• Willing to participate in clinical supervision and contribute to team clinical governance.
• Empathetic, supportive.
• Excellent motivational and team building skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive situations and manage conflict.

Desirable

• Friendly and approachable.
• Assertive, comfortable in a team.
• Sense of humour.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).