Clinical Nutrition Assistant

Summary

Under the general supervision of the Senior Dietitian, Clinical Dietitian and /or Lead Dietetic Technician, performs duties such as but not limited to maintaining and updating data in the CBORD computerized nutrition system, including patients' food selections, printing and reviewing tray tickets and reports. Also calculates calorie counts, plans meals to specified goals and communicates special diet orders and nutrition plans with Dietitians, Dietetic Technicians,, food service staff, and families as needed. Communicates and coordinates menu changes among multiple groups to ensure patients' safety.

Brown University Health employees are expected to successfully role model the organization's values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence as these values guide our everyday actions with patients, customers and one another.

In addition to our values, all employees are expected to demonstrate the core Success Factors which tell us how we work together and how we get things done. The core Success Factors include:

Instill Trust and Value Differences

Patient and Community Focus and Collaborate

Responsibilities

• Carries out functions in a compassionate and sensitive manner regarding needs of pediatric patients admitted for psychiatric diagnoses and/or autism and developmental disabilities.
• Works independently while maintaining a high level of communication with Clinical Dietitian(s), Dietetic Technicians, nursing, interdisciplinary team members and the food service operations team.
• Accurately enters and updates patient data in CBORD such as meal selections/orders/ preferences/ special requests for food.
• Collects patient intake information and calculates calorie counts for dietetic technicians to record in the patients' medical records.Assists patients with combination and difficult diet orders and allergies with finding menu selections.
• Checks meal trays for accuracy on assigned units. Rounds on patients at meal time to obtain patient satisfaction information and supplement preferences.
• Communicates effectively, timely and courteously with patients, staff, and the production team when obtaining meal choices to enter into CBORD.
• Communicates patients' needs with the clinical nutrition and food production team to ensure patients' safety, following Clinical and Food and Nutrition policies.
• Reviews LifeChart records of patients to obtain information about admission dates, discharges, food allergies and diet orders to ensure that data is interfaced to CBORD.
• Problem-solves technical problems as needed.
• Develops and updates menus/meal plans for special diets and corrects menus for nutritional balance.
• Prints menus, tray tickets, reports, calorie count worksheets and updates menu selections throughout the shift.
• Monitors patients' intake for nutritional adequacy as appropriate; relays information to Dietetic Technician and/or Clinical Dietitian.
• Assists with nutrition related in-services to departmental and hospital staff. Guides and educates interns, and other staff as assigned.
• Completes other duties as assigned by Clinical Dietitians, Dietetic Technicians and/or Foodservice Management Team.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong background in computers and/or food service.
• Basic knowledge of the nutritional values of food and food groups through attending an ASCEND recognized nutrition program or comparative experience.

Strong interpersonal communication and customer service skills.

• Oral and written communication skills necessary to communicate effectively with patients, families and hospital personnel in communicating nutrition care plans, etc.
• Demonstrate knowledge, skills and compassion necessary to provide care to pediatric patients with the consideration of psychiatric diagnoses, developmental disabilities, and cultural patterns in each step of the care process.
• Basic computer skills with ability to utilize CBORD, LifeChart and other software databases, Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, iRounds.

Experience

• One-year experience in food service is preferred. Experience with pediatric and/or psychiatric patients is highly desirable.
• Minimal exposure to communicable diseases when in contact with patients. Must be constantly aware that some patients may exhibit physical behaviors.
• Provides functional guidance to junior staff as required.

Pay Range

$18.00-$27.13