Rotational Dietitian: Inpatients & Outpatients

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

Caseload Management - To be responsible for all aspects of a caseload, which includes General Medicine, Medicine for the Elderly (MFE), Oncology, Stroke, and Surgical patients. This responsibility extends to ensuring a high standard of clinical care for the patients.

Dietetic Service - Provide services to allocated wards or clinics (General Medicine, MFE, Oncology, Stroke, Surgical) and rotate as required due to service needs. This includes assessing, treating, and providing nutritional support based on clinical evidence.

Assessment and Treatment -Conduct complex nutritional assessments, calculates nutritional requirements, and interprets medical data (e.g., biochemistry, pharmacology). Use negotiation skills to develop appropriate, realistic, and evidence-based care plans, including decisions regarding artificial nutritional support.

Nutritional Support Decisions - The role involves analyzing options for artificial nutritional support, and making decisions about initiation and withdrawal based on clinical evidence, patient needs, and ethical considerations.

Communication - To liaise with multidisciplinary teams (MDT) to ensure patients are treated effectively and discharged safely with proper nutrition support plans. This includes discussing issues such as ethical dilemmas related to nutritional support withdrawal.

Specialist Equipment Use: To use specialized equipment for assessing nutritional status, such as bioelectrical impedance, callipers, and hand grip dynamometers, interpreting results and adjusting treatment plans as necessary.

Discharge and Follow-Up: Responsibility for ensuring safe discharge planning for patients requiring artificial nutrition support, liaising with community dietitians, and organizing necessary training and product supply.

Seven-Day Service: To participate in a seven-day service, working weekends on a rota basis.

Catering Liaison: To work with catering staff to ensure the provision of appropriate meals for patients with specific dietary needs, including those with dysphagia, in consultation with speech and language therapists.

Social Issues: Refer patients to external agencies such as social services or housing support when complex social issues related to nutrition arise

Nutrition Team Contribution: Contribute to the nutrition team ward rounds, offering advice on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) and other artificial nutritional support, ensuring safe and appropriate treatment for patients.

Research and Audit: To engage in research and audit activities to improve the dietetic service and report findings within the Trust.

Communication Skills:

Educational Responsibilities:

Patient Education: To educate patients, especially those with significant barriers to understanding, about their complex dietary needs. This may involve one-on-one education or group sessions including cardiac rehabilitation sessions .

Student Dietitian Training: To contribute to the training of student dietitians, including planning placements, supervising students, and assessing their progress.

Educational Programs: To contribute to the development and delivery of educational programs and training for healthcare staff such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, therapists.

Trust Events: The dietitian participates in trust-wide events such as Nutrition Week and Dietitians Week, supporting both patients and staff in nutrition-related activities.

Financial Responsibilities:

Stock Control: The dietitian is responsible for ordering and maintaining stock levels of specialist nutritional products for their areas of care.

Equipment Management: The dietitian ensures the proper use and maintenance of specialized equipment, such as enteral and parenteral pumps, and ensures the security and safe use of this equipment.

Purchasing: The role involves following guidance on purchasing low-cost resources and ensuring efficient use of resources within the department.

General Duties:

Documentation: Maintain accurate records of all patient interactions in accordance with professional and Trust guidelines.

Confidentiality: Maintaining confidentiality of patient information is essential, in line with Trust policies and professional standards.

Professional Development: Participate in continuing professional development (CPD) and maintain a CPD portfolio, ensuring they keep up to date with nutrition and dietetic practices.

Compliance: Comply with all Trust policies, including Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, and record-keeping standards, while ensuring patients' informed consent before dietetic intervention.

Teamwork: As part of the Dietetic Department Team, participate in staff meetings, departmental developments, and contribute to overall service delivery.

Additional Duties: Undertake other duties appropriate to the role, responding to service needs and requests from the Head of Nutrition & Dietetics.

This summary outlines the extensive scope of the dietitian's responsibilities, spanning clinical care, team collaboration, education, communication, and administrative duties. The position requires strong professional skills, including the ability to manage complex clinical cases, handle sensitive issues, collaborate with diverse healthcare teams, and contribute to service development and improvement.

Person Specification

Education and qualifications

Essential

• BSc in Dietetics 4 year degree course or equivalent
• State Registered Dietitian with HCPC
• BDA member

Desirable

• BDA member of one specialist group

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Ability to provide specialised treatment packages, plan and provide appropriate monitoring and use initiative for all rotational areas
• Ability to analyse complex, conflicting information, and deciding on the most appropriate treatment plan from a range of options for all rotational areas
• Good written and verbal communication

Experience

Essential

• Up to date clinical knowledge
• Knowledge of general medications
• Knowledge of government strategy for general medicine, medicine for elderly, oncology, stroke, and surgical areas

Values

Essential

• Demonstrable ability to meet Trust values

Other requirements

Essential

• Understanding of and commitment to CPD
• Demonstrate an understanding of equal opportunities

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics - Therapies Department Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital site

Sterling Way

London

N18 1QX

Employer's website

https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)