Clinical Dietician / Nutritionist Job Description
Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist Job Profile and Description
Hospitals and clinics as well as maternity and nursing care facilities employ clinical dietician/nutritionists to manage inhouse kitchens and provide their expertise in preparing the proper food for its patients confined in these facilities. Apart from complying with the menu ingredients as may be specified by their attending doctors, clinical dietician/nutritionists can and are known to assess patients’ nutritional needs and implement nutritional programs to assist in their recovery. They also develop special dietary meals for patients with renal disorders, are diabetic or required feeding through tubes.
Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist Duties and Responsibilities
- Visit patients in confinement and asses their nutritional and dietary requirements based on doctor’s prescription and diagnosis as well as their existing health condition.
- Supervise the kitchen staff in ensuring that all food processing appliances are sanitized, raw materials are up to specification and the processing can accommodate the number of confined patients with special diet needs considered in the production.
- Delegate kitchen production to maintain a skeletal staff in the evenings for patients requiring food during off hours.
Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist Skills and Specifications
- Must have a license to work as a dietitian in the state requiring it, usually from the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association.
- Must have excellent communication, facilitation, and mentoring skills as well as the supervisory competence to handle a team of kitchen processors.
Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist Education and Qualifications
- A BS degree in the nutritional and dietetic sciences as well as food management is basic
- At least 5-8 years of progressive experience in clinical food management in hospitals or health care facilities
Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist Salary
The annual median salary of a Clinical Dietician/Nutritionist in 2008 stood at $50,600 with the middle 50% earning between $42,000 and $61,800. The bottom 10% earned les than $31,500 while the top 10% earned about $74,000. Out patient care centers and surgical hospital had the highest median at around $52,000, annually.