Dietetic Assistant Practitioner - Acute / Community

Job responsibilities

Clinical

To undertake nutritional assessments of inpatients many of whom are at risk of malnutrition, including (as appropriate) anthropometric measurements, clinical condition, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score, reported diet history and social circumstances and use clinical reasoning skills to interpret data collected including and plan individualised service user care, using agreed care pathways as a basis.

To provide basic dietetic advice mainly in relation to the treatment of malnutrition to inpatients, their families, nursing and catering staff, taking account of medical, social, emotional, psychological and cultural needs of the patient and to be able to use this complex and sensitive information when formulating individualised dietetic advice.

To provide appropriate nutrition treatment plans based on Food First principals & monitor / review patients dietary needs, involving nursing staff, catering staff and other health care professionals when indicated.

To provide advice on appropriate use of and first line oral nutritional products to meet patients nutritional requirements.

To demonstrate empathy and reassure patients and their families, when appropriate, to continue to reach targets throughout their nutritional treatment.

To be familiar with the use of tools to assess nutrition and hydration status in patients.

To be able to identify errors made by others when completing MUST and take appropriate action i.e. feedback to staff and / or provide further training.

To undertake reviews of patients on inpatient wards who have been provided with a treatment plan by a registered Dietitian.

Ensure effective use is made of department / trust resources, equipment and prescribed nutritional products by conducting supplement tasting.

Communication and Relationships:

To possess appropriate communication skills to be able to provide nutrition and hydration information to patients, their families, nursing staff, catering staff and other health professionals on inpatient wards. This will include one to one consultations, training sessions, meetings and communication via email, MS Teams or telephone. This involves communicating with healthcare staff with a range of backgrounds of nutritional knowledge, where there may be barriers to changing current practice requiring negotiation and effective and adaptable communication skills.

To establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with hospital staff. Positive relationships are characterised by open communication, trust and respect.

To integrate as a key member of the multidisciplinary team to optimise the experiences and outcomes of patients identified at risk of malnutrition and dehydration.

To be involved in the on-going development and delivery of training sessions for hospital staff including ward hostesses, healthcare assistance and nursing staff in line with the trusts nutrition and hydration strategy.

Analytical and Judgemental:

To be professionally and legally accountable and responsible for all aspects of your own work, including the management of service users in your care.

To develop individual nutrition treatment plans with / for patients, to reach agreed nutritional goals.

To negotiate and agree dietary changes with patients and ward staff using appropriate counselling, motivational and behaviour change techniques and skills. This may also involve patients families and friends where appropriate and will require a sensitive and empathetic manner to overcome resistance to change.

To evaluate and review nutritional care provided by ward staff, to ensure that staff are adhering to Food First principles in line with nutrition and hydration standards.

To evaluate and review your own work and that of the dietetic service, seeking the views of others and adopting the principles of evidence based practice to ensure maintenance of clinical and professional standards.

Planning and Organisation:

To work as a member of the Dietetic team and promote team working within George Eliot Hospital and the wider dietetic service.

To be able to plan and organise own caseload of inpatients, new referrals, meetings & training sessions.

Policy and Service:

To participate in the training of ward staff in line with nut in line with the trusts nutrition and hydration standards and assist in providing targeted feedback wards who fail to meet the required standards.

To collect outcome and activity data.

To contribute to the wider quality and audit programme, including the monitoring of clinical and process standards for your own work and that of the wider Nutrition and Dietetic Service.

To report any accidents or incidents via the DATIX incident reporting system and/or to an appropriate registered professional, ensuring an open and transparent culture.

To contribute to the development of high quality diet sheets, information leaflets and other educational resources to support the delivery of Nutrition and Dietetic Services.

To maintain an up to date knowledge and evidence base to support your practice.

To contribute to the implementation of protocols and guidelines relevant to your work.

To evaluate and review your own work and that of the service, seeking the views of others and adopting the principles of evidence based practice to ensure maintenance of clinical and professional standards.

To contribute to departmental meetings.

To contribute to the setting of targets and annual team objectives, and to the monitoring of these objectives.

Information Resources:

To maintain accurate and comprehensive service user records in line with HCPC, BDA, Trust and departmental standards.

To collect outcome data to meet the departments information requirements.

Education, Training and Personal Development:

To plan, provide and assist in training for a wide range of qualified and unqualified hospital and ward staff.

To evaluate, review and update all training provided on a regular basis.

To contribute to the clinical supervision of student dietitians and/or dietetic assistants (responsibility once sufficiently experienced, training provided as required).

To ensure attendance at mandatory training sessions i.e. infection control, resuscitation and moving and handling training.

To complete the Trusts Clinical Support Worker Induction programme

To successfully complete the Care Certificate within 12 weeks of commencing employment.

To meet identified competencies and ensure knowledge and skills required to undertake the responsibilities of the post are attained and maintained.

To participate in appraisals and personal reviews and work to achieve agreed set objectives.

To participate in team, professional and personal development activities including IT and clinical skills and promote commitment to continuous development and improvement.

Maintain up to date knowledge of changes in policies and procedures relevant to the post.

Freedom to Act:

Describes and applies clinical reasoning for the treatment of service users under their care.

Works within broad treatment guidelines, but is able to act autonomously when making decisions about service users care within agree boundaries. Is supervised by an experienced Dietitian with whom they can discuss treatment plans, problems and queries.

Refers the care of complex service user cases, which are outside their competencies, to a Registered Dietitian.

Qualifications

Essential

• Obtained an educational level of GCSE level A - C English and Maths or equivalent
• Minimum Foundation Degree or Higher National Diploma in nutrition or food science
• Care Certificate or willingness to work towards attaining it

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with the general public in a people centred environment or a healthcare setting (hospital, care home or community)
• Experience working as part of a team.

Desirable

• Previous experience working in a role that delivers nutrition & hydration or working in a dietetic department
• Previous experience of group training, e.g. delivering training to groups or teaching others a new skill
• Experience completing nutrition screening such as 'MUST' (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool) and implementing nutrition action plans

Skills

Essential

• Good written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Able to communicate information in an understandable form to patients and their carers using motivational and negotiation skills
• Aware of own limitations
• Able to recognise when escalation to a registered professional is required
• Able to delegate work appropriately
• Able to use a computer and have basic knowledge of word processing, e-mail, dietary analysis, presentation preparation and electronic patient records.
• Able to present information, written and orally in an accurate clear and logical manner
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload
• Able to work autonomously
• Understanding of malnutrition and dehydration and how these might be managed

Desirable

• Able to complete nutrition assessments including taking anthropometric measurements
• Able to plan, implement and evaluate treatment

Personal

Essential

• Able to work as part of a team
• Compassionate and caring nature
• Able to demonstrate empathy and motivate health and social care workers
• Confidence to deliver training to groups of staff
• Reliable

Other

Essential

• Passes pre-employment checks
• Able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service
• Able to carry out moderate physical effort throughout the working day and carry out concurrent activities
• Able to occasionally be exposed to unpleasant working conditions
• Able, with appropriate support, to work in an emotionally demanding environment
• Ability to cope with unpredictable events and varying work pressures
• Must have independent means of transport

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).