General Orthopaedic Dietitian for Adults

Job description

Job responsibilities

see attached JD

Planning and Organisation

To have autonomous responsibility for the planning and prioritisation of clinical caseload of adults and non-clinical workload including provision of dietetic cover to other specialist areas in the events of planned and unplanned leave of designated cover team member

Develop strong working relationships with Doctors, Nurses, HCAs and catering staff to ensure the provision of nutrition and hydration is in line with national and Trust wide recommendations, i.e. Protected Mealtimes.

Contribute to the multi-disciplinary education and training provision for health care professionals involved in caring for patients with nutrition concerns. Developing and co-ordinating education and training programmes and evaluating their effectiveness within the Trust.

To provide the catering department with expert advice on special diets and arrange the provision of specific dietary items or modifications to ensure patients nutritional needs are met

Support and lead on nutrition initiatives within the trust

Analysis and performance evaluation

Responsible for the collection, recording and storage of information ensuring this complies with the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act. Ensuring information is disposed of appropriately

Collect data to prepare reports and audits which demonstrate the effectiveness of nutrition within the trust

Maintain and further develop the provision of information for the patient

Identify and contribute to the development and dissemination of evidence-based guidelines, standards and protocols as required

Provide specialist expertise which reflects current and best practice

To actively participate in relevant Trust/regional/national meetings to stay abreast of new developments in specialist areas of nutrition and dietetics, and feedback this information to the department to ensure continued learning and improvement to the service

Knowledge and experience

To make recommendations to the medical staff regarding changes to medications for the nutritional management of patients based on interpretation of biochemical, physiological and dietary parameters.

To act as a resource in nutrition, effective educator and role model for health care professionals working across professional and organisational boundaries.

Member of Trusts nutrition group

Assess, plan, direct and evaluate patient nutritional care programmes

To use Trust policies, national guidelines, available research and individual patient information in clinical decision making and reasoning.

To champion excellence in nutritional care.

To practice within the Health Professions Councils Standards of conduct, performance and ethics and Standards of proficiency for dietitians, and the British Dietetic Associations Professional Standards for dietitians and 'Code of Professional Conduct' and therefore have a clear understanding of issues such as consent, confidentiality and equal opportunities.

To provide multi professional education, training and expert advice to other staff within the trust.

Provide specialist expertise which reflects current and best practice

Act as a specialist clinical practitioner demonstrating developed clinical skills and knowledge for nutrition

To contribute to the training of pre-registration student dietitians, including contribution to the assessment process by completing standard assessment tools and direct clinical supervision as part of own caseload, acting as a mentor as required.

To deliver patient education sessions.

Communication and relationship management

Develop strong working relationships with Nutrition Link Nurses, HCAs and catering staff to ensure the provision of nutrition and hydration is in line with national and Trust wide recommendations, i.e. Protected Mealtimes.

To communicate highly complex information in a comprehensible way to patients and carers who may have significant communication and/or cognitive difficulties, language barriers requiring the assistance of interpreters or registered blind/deaf.

To work effectively with other members of the dietetics team to deliver a comprehensive nutrition advisory service.

Contribute to the multi-disciplinary education and training provision for health care professionals involved in caring for patients with nutrition concerns. Developing and co-ordinating education and training programmes and evaluating their effectiveness within the Trust.

To use advanced teaching and communication skills to educate a diverse and multicultural patient group/population on essential and highly complex specialised dietary adaptations needed for disease control/prevention

Maintain and further develop the provision of information for the patient

Supervise and coach other MDT members in the implementation of nutritional screening and evaluation of patient specific nutritional care plans

Achieving Targets

Collect data to prepare reports and audits which demonstrate the effectiveness of nutrition within the trust

Involvement as required in Service Transformation projects

To initiate, plan and conduct Trust-wide/regional/national audits/research projects, and analyse, interpret and present results to relevant groups and co-lead or assist in the implementation of changes to clinical practice/service delivery

Identify and contribute to the improvement of patient care by ensuring care is evidence-based. Evidence will be provided through dietetic or nurse led audit of clinical outcomes that are shared within the MDT and acted upon

To identify gaps and act on requests to develop, produce and publish evidence-based written resources on nutritional issues to aid in the education of patients, their carers and other HCPs, to be available and suitable for use on a Trust wide/regional/national level

Person Specification

Training and experience

Essential

• BSc Degree or equivalent, in Nutrition & Dietetics.
• Experience in an acute hospital setting
• Experience in the design and use of enteral feeding regimens

Desirable

• Member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA) or equivalent association.

Skills

Essential

• Effective communication skills
• Critical appraisal of research and literature search skills
• Verbal reasoning skills
• Proven organisation skills
• Computer skills -Word, Excel, Powerpoint and effective internet searching.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of nutrition support in a hospital setting
• Knowledge of the principles of conducting audit and/or research
• Up to date knowledge of current issues relating to nutrition and dietetics in adults
• Good understanding of the use of Nutrition Screening Tools

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

Address

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

Brockley Hill

Stanmore

HA7 4LP

Employer's website

https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)