Dietitian Nutritionist

Under the general administration of the Division of General Internal Medicine FQHC, the incumbent in this position will provide appropriate nutritional and/or dietary education to patients and ensure that it meets nationally recognized standards of care. Additionally, the incumbent will also provide nutritional assessments, education, and counseling for patients as appropriate.

Clinical Duties 90%
A Provide nutrition counseling for patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, pre-diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemias, overweight or obesity, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, hypertension malnutrition, tube feeding and other medical conditions through individual and group appointments. Set up periodic follow up of nutritional status, determining frequency based on patient health conditions and education need.
B. Teach patients with diabetes mellitus to carbohydrate count or maintain consistent carbohydrate intake with meals to facilitate efforts at achieving optimal glycemic control. Coordinate with clinic pharmacist or physician/APRN as needed to optimize their care.
C. Teach patients with obesity on healthy nutrition, processed/ ultra-processed food, behavior and lifestyle modification to achieve weight reduction and identify patients to participate in Diabetes Prevention Program and Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Obesity.
D. Assure optimal patient education through the following:
a. Individualized and group assessment and education of patients.
b. Development of an educational care plan and its implementation.
c. Monitoring and reassessment of an individual's achievement of the educational and behavioral goals.
E. Keeps current on new concepts and developments in dietetics and nutritional therapy.
F. Understand relevant laboratory results and discuss goals and outcomes with patient. Teach patients and caregivers how to utilize diabetes management technologies like finger stick and continuous glucose monitors.
G. Educate diabetic patients and family members on use of insulin and other blood glucose lowering medications, blood glucose monitoring, sick day management, hypoglycemia, and other topics appropriate to diabetes management including, but not limited to, pathophysiology and natural history, acute and chronic complications, role of exercise in management, and psychological impacts of the conditions and patients and care givers. Documents and evaluates all teaching efforts and resources used for educating patients, family members, and caregivers. Assess patient and caregivers needs for follow up education.
H. Teach diabetic patients and caregivers how to document blood glucose readings and report them to their physician who is managing their diabetes. Review blood glucose results and advise patients regarding optimizing their diet. Sending to physician for review as needed.
I. Assist in the development of policies, procedures, clinical protocols and quality monitoring/ improvement activities for the program related to nutrition.
J. Participate in Teaching kitchen sessions demonstrating healthy recipes for patients and staff.
K. Maintain a complementary clinical schedule to the Division faculty to maximize patient access to services.
L. Serve as a nutritional education resource for the Department of Internal Medicine and participate in the education of residents and medical students as needed.
M. Communicate findings and recommendations to all referring physicians.
N. Develop, review, update and implement nutrition-related educational materials to meet the needs of the patients and professionals.
O. Maintain documentation and patient records in the SIU medical record and submit billing for the visits in a timely manner.
P. Abide by Federally Quality Health Center (FQHC) policies for patient care.
Administrative 10%
A. As directed by faculty, deliver presentations, design programs, display or educational materials on behalf of the program, both to internal and external groups.
B. Attends and participates in multi-disciplinary meetings to ensure quality nutritional and/or dietary care is carried out.
C. Assist with development of research questions and indicators for quality improvement monitoring.
D. Maintain active role in Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
E. Maintain continuing education credits in areas pertinent to the practice.
F. Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

1. Possession of current Registered Dietitian licensure from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations and credentials and registration from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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