Position Details Lakeland Regional Health is a leading medical center located in Central Florida. With a legacy spanning over a century, we have been dedicated to serving our community with excellence in healthcare. As the only Level 2 Trauma center for Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties, and the second busiest Emergency Department in the US, we are committed to providing high-quality care to our diverse patient population.
Our facility is licensed for 910 beds and handles over 200,000 emergency room visits annually, along with 49,000 inpatient admissions, 21,000 surgical cases, 4,000 births, and 101,000 outpatient visits. Work Hours per Biweekly Pay Period: 8
Weekdays with Rotating Weekends Location : 1324 Lakeland Hills Blvd Lakeland, FL
The Clinical Dietitian is responsible to the Clinical Nutrition Manager. He/she works across the institution to provide quality nutritional support services. He/She consistently contributes to a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort to ensure positive patient outcomes.
The Clinical Dietitian works with the food service management and staff to coordinate delivery of the prescribed diet and meet the nutritional needs of the patient. He/she is responsible to practice within their scope of licensure in accordance with approved policies, procedures and protocols. He/she must effectively interact with patients, families, physicians and other health team members while maintaining standards of professional nutritional care.
He/she must identify opportunities for and contribute to the improvement of quality, safety and cost, as well as patient, customer, and employee satisfaction. The Clinical Dietitian performs other duties as assigned.
Standard Work Duties: Dietitian (PRN) Evaluate patients for nutritional status based on nursing screening criteria/consults/screening reports and within the scope of established dietetic practice standards, federal/state regulations and The Joint Commission standards with a monthly productivity level of 1.2., validated by weekly productivity logs and monthly chart review. Implement and monitor nutrition care plans and document according to standards of care criteria with reassessments completed within three to five days for moderate risk and within 48 hours for high risk patients, as validated by monthly chart review; collaborates with fellow team members and communicates nutrition care plan when transferred to other units, when other team members are covering or weekend coverage and validated by chart review with the dietitian.
Collaborate with and communicate effectively with physicians and members of the multi-disciplinary team to integrate information which refines and contributes to the overall medical care of the patient, with specific emphasis on nutritional care, through daily rounds, as validated by the customer feedback process and monthly chart review. Develop, coordinate and provide nutrition education to patients, families, staff, and physicians to ensure that nutritional care is maintained across the continuum of care and into the home/recovery setting through one on one, small groups, classroom setting and community setting as evidenced by weekly productivity log and participation in community programs.
Serves as a liaison between patient, staff and food service department by integrating nutrition information, observed food delivered, patient prescribed dietary plan, federal/state regulations and The Joint Commission standards to ensure that optimal patient outcomes are achieved as validated by daily meal rounds and tray checks completed. Clinical competence and continuous improvement so that optimum patient outcomes are achieved through completion of Nutritional Competency, completion of mandatory education and completion of 15 hours of continuing education annually as mandated for Florida license and validated by annual mandatory education form.
Demonstrates commitment to the dietitian team by attendance of department staff meetings and flexibility to meet workload so that patients' nutritional care needs are met by willingness to change scheduled hours of work as needed, provide coverage in other areas as needed, provide weekend coverage as needed and provide assistance to other staff members as needed as validated by attendance noted in department minutes and work schedules.
Competencies & Skills Essential: Working knowledge of nutrition principles. Working knowledge of basic computer skills. Public speaking.
Qualifications & Experience Essential: Bachelor Degree Nonessential: Master Degree Essential: Bachelor of Science Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition or related field Nonessential: Masters of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition or related field Other information: Licenses Essential: Licensed by the State of Florida, Registered Dietitian or Registered Dietitian Eligible (maximum of 1 year from hire date) by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association).
Certifications Essential: Per department or hospital requirements and relevant policies.