Performs professional level nutritional assessment, education and medical nutritional therapy and/or directs others in professional administrative dietetic services. 

Under general supervision, provides for nutritional assessment, management and education of patients, and/or directs a food service system.

Assesses special nutritional needs of patients, residents and clients; 

Assesses, evaluates, and prescribes modified/therapeutic diets; 

Acts as liaison between clinical dietitians and other clinical professional staff; 

Recommends to medical staff medication use or dosage to optimize nutritional therapy and address food and drug interaction for designated medications; 

Develops criteria and assesses patients with high risk nutritional issues (such as oncology, diabetes, dementia, eating disorders, allergies, substance abuse, etc.); 

Consults with occupational therapists, speech pathologists and/or nursing staff to determine safe food textures to prevent choking/aspiration; 

Serves as a member of an interdisciplinary team and/or participates in the quality assurance process;  

Audits patient’s records as needed to ensure dietary compliance with patient nutritional needs; 

Formulates modified diet menus based on physician's recommendation for patient; prepares mechanically soft, diabetic, sodium restricted, reduction, and other therapeutic dietetic menus; interprets diet prescriptions;  

Supervises the preparation and serving of special or modified diets; confers with cooks, bakers, and meatcutters regarding their available time for special diet work and kind of food necessary for special diets;  

Sets up and maintains diet recipe file; develops and modifies recipes; 

Inspects food being served for compliance with policies and standards governing proper proportioning, sanitation, and food handling; 

Trains cooks, food service personnel, patients or students in therapeutic meal preparation;  

Maintains case records such as caloric intake and nutritional histories for individual patients; maintains dietary efficiency within budget constraints; prepares reports; 

Coordinates and evaluates food production, food distribution and service systems; 

Integrates nutritional care program with food production and delivery; merchandises food in both personnel and patient areas; 

Establishes and maintains policies and procedures regarding such things as standards of food production and service, sanitation, safety and security, food service system goals; 

Utilizes computerized systems in the evaluation of nutritional care and food control processes; 

Develops, organizes, implements and evaluates nutrition education for patients; arranges discharge nutrition care plans with outside agencies; 

Serves as a consultant on nutrition care as a member of a health care team; 

Implements and monitors all state, federal, local and JCAH standards for dietary departments; 

Performs related duties as required; 

May supervise or direct the work of others.

Knowledge of: technical principles, theory, and practice of nutrition including design of therapeutic menus and medical nutrition therapy; therapeutic diet planning; preparation and serving of special diets; sanitary methods of food handling; standards for low-cost institutional feeding; methods of food cost control.   

Ability to: instruct others in dietetic food preparation; organize and schedule work; establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with others; prepare and maintain dietetic charts and nutritional histories. 

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification.  It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.

AND

registration as a Dietitian by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics or eligible for registration at the time of hire and pass the registration examination within one year of date of hire.