Dietitian

Job responsibilities

SCOPE OF THE JOB

The role will join our established team of dietitians and will specifically work to improve the nutrition and diet of the population of Bay PCN in line with the PCN DES. This will include the diagnosis and treatment of diet and nutritional problems, supporting changes to food intake to across a wide range of areas including weight management, diabetes, frailty and gastroenterology. The post holder will also translate public health and scientific research on food, health and disease into practical guidance to provide the Practice with up-to-date information and enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.

This role offers excellent opportunities for career development. The post holder will be expected to work towards the First Contact Practitioner module in line with the dietetic roadmap for dietitians in primary care.

The post holder will uphold and demonstrate the values of Bay Medical Group/Bay PCN.

Main Responsibilities:

• Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for advice relating to the nutritional needs of patients in primary care
• Provide specialist nutrition and diet advice to patients, their carers and healthcare professionals through treatment and education plans and prescriptions
• Identify and maintain a caseload
• Educate patients with diet-related disorders on how they can improve their health and prevent disease by adopting a healthier eating and drinking habit
• Make recommendations to PCN and Practice staff regarding changes to medications for the nutritional management of patients, based on interpretation of biochemical, physiological and dietary requirements
• Provide dietetic assessment and care plans to patients in a variety of settings (e.g.GP practice, care home, patients own home) via face to face, video and telephone consultations
• Develop, implement and evaluate a seamless nutrition support service that is aimed at continuously improving standards of patient care and wider MDT working
• Provide an enhanced dietetic service to frail patients in Bay PCN, specifically those in care homes or with complex chronic health conditions
• Advise on nutritional issues with respect to catering for people in care homes to ensure nutritional needs are met, developing and delivering nutritional teaching programmes to care homes, minimising the need for nutritional products
• Improve patient follow-up in the community.
• Promote appropriate prescribing of oral nutritional supplements in line with local guidance.
• Ensure best practice in clinical practice, caseload management, education, research and audit to achieve corporate PCN and local population objectives
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to gain patients’ cooperation and understanding in following recommended dietary treatments.
• Develop, implement and evaluate a seamless nutrition support service that is aimed at continuously improving standards of patient care and wider MDT working.
• Make recommendations and inform other dietetic colleagues, health care professionals and external agencies including GP’s of issues concerning patients’ nutritional and dietetic management or transfer of care as appropriate to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach
• Ensure best-practice in clinical practice, caseload management, education, research and audit, to achieve corporate PCN and local population objectives.
• Support the identification of non-nutritional causes of weight loss and refer onwards as needed
• Make dietetic advice readily available
• Collaborate with other members of the Primary Health Care Team including doctors, nurses, pharmacists accepting referrals and referring to them for specialist care.
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Ensure a high standard of clinical practice is maintained by ensuring care is based on current best practice, embarking upon further training if required and continuing to update clinical knowledge

Communication

The post holder will recognise the importance of effective communication and will develop and maintain communication with people about difficult matters and/or in difficult situations including:

• Communicating complex nutrition and dietetic information in an understandable form to healthcare staff, patients and carers using negotiation, persuasion, motivation and counselling skills. This may include situations where there are barriers to understanding
• encourages effective communication between all involved
• adapts communication to take account of others’ culture, background and preferred way of communicating
• provides feedback to others on their communication where appropriate
• shares and engages thinking with others
• maintains the highest standards of integrity when communicating with patients, colleagues and the wider public
• adheres to confidentiality rules are understood and adhered to
• communicates effectively and calmly in difficult situations and with difficult people

Personal and people development

The post-holder will develop self and contribute to the development of others, including:

• To participate in professional development review annually. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice. It is the individuals’ responsibility to remain up to date with recent developments. Training requirements will be monitored by yearly appraisal and will be in accordance with practice requirements.
• Regularly reflect on own practice (and keep record of learning encounters) in order to identify learning needs and encourage self-directed lifelong learning and continued professional development
• Participate in undergraduate and postgraduate training, working within the post holders scope of practice to enhance the learning experience of multidisciplinary learners in primary care.

Qualifications

Essential

• BSc pre-ref MSc in Dietetics under an approved training programme.
• Registered member of Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Completed Elearning for Healthcare Primary Care Modules and Personalised Care Modules or willing to work towards this.
• First Contact Practitioner Level 7 module, or willingness to work towards this.

Desirable

• Post graduate degree in relevant subject or equivalent.
• Level 7 clinical reasoning module.
• Supervision or mentorship qualification.

Skills and Attributes

Essential

• Ability to motivate and influence others especially around change management.
• Ability to work as a team member and promote collaborative multidisciplinary and multi-agency working.
• Ability to plan over plan over short, medium and long timeframes, making adjustments as required and managing workload effectively.
• Ability to teach others.
• Dynamic/ able to use own initiative.
• Excellent communicator.
• IT Literate/ proficient use of computer.
• Good presentation skills.
• Good problem solving and decision making skills.
• Resilient.
• Understands and adheres to confidentiality.
• Understanding of the NHS and social care agenda and the issues effecting Primary Care.

Experience

Essential

• Experienced dietitian (several years post qualification) who has previous experience of setting up and running projects.
• Experience in health promotion.
• Experience of working across varied healthcare settings, especially experience working within or liaising with community or primary care.
• Experience of change management and putting ideas into practice.
• Experience in dealing with difficult situations.
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of setting up and working with efficient administration systems and functions to support the delivery of high-quality services.
• Experience of working positively and productively with a range of professional colleagues.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Experience of dealing with internal and external stakeholders.

Desirable

• Experience of using EMIS Web.
• Experience of creating and giving presentations to varied audiences.
• Experience of working successfully within the Primary Healthcare sector or of working across health or social care setting.
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area.
• Knowledge of the needs of patients with long term conditions.
• Experience of taking part in multi-disciplinary meetings.

Other

Essential

• Flexible to travel across the five BMG practice sites and the practice area as required.
• Reliable, enthusiastic and positive.
• We operate extended hours and the role will include working one evening per week (until 8pm).

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.

UK Registration

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