Specialist Dietitian - Critical Care

Leeds Teaching Hospitals; Leeds; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Leeds seeks a motivated and enthusiastic dietitian to join their Critical Care Dietetic team for maternity leave cover. This part-time role offers opportunities to expand hours and involves providing specialized nutritional support within critical care units. Candidates should have a relevant degree and HCPC registration. Strong communication skills and teamwork are essential, along with the ability to manage a complex patient caseload.

Qualifications

• Experience of working within a Dietetic role in a healthcare setting.
• Willing to undergo necessary training for job performance.
• Awareness of current issues in specialized areas of dietetics.

Responsibilities

• Provide highly specialist nutritional assessment and advice.
• Manage own caseload under supervision.
• Participate in education and training for healthcare staff.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Team working skills

Time management

Organizational skills

Presentation skills

Education

BSc (Hons) Nutrition & Dietetics

HCPC Registration as a dietitian

Job description

Arelooking for a development opportunity or wish to gain experience in CriticalCare? Then this job could be for you.

Weare looking for a motivated and enthusiastic dietitian to join our friendlyand pro-active Critical Care Dietetic team, at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHSTrust, for 12 months (Maternity leave cover). It is a part-time post, withopportunities to increase the hours to full time.

Thepost-holder will be supported by the Band 7 Dietetic Leads, to manage acomplex and interesting inpatient caseload on the Critical Care Units, whichinclude the specialist Cardiac, Neurosurgery and Trauma unit, Surgical andGeneral ICUs, across the city. You will work collaboratively with the MDT,delivering high quality patient care.

Asa Specialist Dietitian you will actively participate in professional andservice development within the Dietetic and Critical Care services. Healthand wellbeing is a Trust and department priority; we are forward thinkingwhen it comes to flexible working.

Main duties of the job

MainDuties of the Role

Thesuccessful candidate, who must have excellent communication and team workingskills, will be responsible for providing highly specialist nutritionalassessment and evidenced-based advice to patients requiring nutritionalsupport, particularly enteral nutrition on the Critical Care Unit and offersupport and advice to others when they step down from level 2/3 care.Experience of enteral feeding and different feeding routes are essential.Attendance at MDT ward rounds, patient meetings and education sessions, willhelp to develop working relationships and knowledge.

Thepost-holder will also be actively involved in the audit of patient carepractices as part of the service quality assurance framework and will beencouraged to participate in dietetic working groups. The post offersexcellent opportunities for professional and personal development.

About us

OurTrust values are that we are patient-centred, empowered, collaborative, fairand accountable. If your values match ours, we would love to hear from you.We have a strong focus on investing in the continued professional developmentof our people to ensure that they can achieve their full potential. Weencourage further training and career development opportunities in everydepartment and at every level of our organisation.

Wehave a culture where people take a real pride in their work, respect eachother and all work together to deliver exceptional standards of patient care.We have a happy, productive work environment where everyone in every roleplays their own important part in our success.

TheNutrition and Dietetic Department provides regular professional developmentevents, and hosts training to A, B and C placement students.

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.

Job responsibilities

JOBPURPOSE

Toprovide part of a professional Nutrition and Dietetic care service within aSpecialist area. This includes advice to in-patients, out-patients, allhealthcare staff and participation in the training of student dietitiansShows initiative in assisting and supporting the senior specialist dietitiansand the Clinical Dietetic Manager in the day to day management of thedepartment.

3. JOB DIMENSIONS

Thepost holder will:

Manage own case load to a levelagreed with supervisor / line manager.

Be involved in the provision ofeducation and training to healthcare staff, patients, care providers andstudents

Be a key member of themultidisciplinary care team to provide integrated dietetic care

Shows initiative in assisting andsupporting the senior specialist dietitians and the chief dietitian in theday to day management of the department.

Deliver training to healthcarestaff, dietitians and students.

Be an active member of the out ofhours service.

KNOWLEDGE,SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

BSc (Hons) Nutrition &Dietetics or equivalent

HCPC Registration as a dietitian

Experience of working within aDietetic role within a healthcare setting

Willing to undergo any training asrequired to enable performance in the job.

Awareness of current issues inspecialised areas of dietetics

Able to work within a team,demonstrate initiative, confidence and excellent time management andorganisational skills

Good written, oral andinterpersonal communication skills

Good presentation skills indelivering training to large multidisciplinary groups of staff or members ofthe public (this may involve groups of more than 50 people).

6. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

Ourvalues are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see thisas a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by ourstaff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

Accountable

Empowered

Allour actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

Additionallythe following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

Comply with professional codes ofpractice, professional guidelines and departmental policies and procedures

Maintain strict confidentiality inthe provision of dietetic care

Be compassionate and ethical in theprovision of dietetic care

Demonstrate a commitment topersonal and professional development

8. CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS

Demonstrate good office practice inaccordance with departmental policies and procedures

Be a pro-active team member of thedietetics department at LTHT by participating in departmental developmentprojects, attending and participating in departmental meetings and clinicalupdates

Demonstrate the ability tocommunicate highly complex specialised and sensitive information with empathyand understanding

Demonstrate the ability tocommunicate highly complex specialised and sensitive information with empathyand understanding

Demonstrate the ability to providehighly complex nutrition counselling to patients requiring cognitivebehavioural therapy skills and use of advanced reassurance motivational andnegotiation skills to overcome barriers to change

Demonstrate the ability to analyseclinical and non-clinical information to form accurate nutrition care plansin specialised areas

Demonstrate analytical skills inprioritising the best course of dietetic treatment in patients with highlycomplex clinical conditions, where nutritional goals may conflict with otheron-going physical, emotional psychological and medical problems

Ability to use stadiometers,anthropometric skin-fold callipers with precision and accuracy in thenutritional assessment of patients

9. CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

Ability to perform specialisednutritional assessment, interpret and plan relevant dietetic care programmesfor patients with highly complex nutritional needs and multiple medicalconditions

Advanced knowledge of biochemistry,physiology and pharmacology

Understanding of the calculationsrequired in dietetic assessment

Ability to correctly interpretcomplex nutritional impairments, biochemical parameters and fluid balance.This will involve nutritional diagnosis including interpretation ofbiochemistry, anthropometrics, clinical condition, Social factors and diethistories in patients with specialised and complex nutritional needs.

Demonstrate advanced knowledge ininterpretation of complex clinical information to develop, monitor andcomplete nutritional care plans in a specialised dietetic areas. This mayinclude the prescription of dietary treatment, prescribable nutritional productsand enteral nutrition.

Responsible for safe dischargeplanning including the discharges of patients receiving home enteralnutrition

Demonstrate the ability to evaluatepractice using evidence based practice and critical appraisal

Ability to advise and suggestnutrition related medications

Knowledge of clinical governance,quality of care and evidence based practice in specialist areas

Awareness of national guidance anddriving factors in specialist based

9. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OFRESPONSIBILITY

Clinicaland Professional

Be an autonomous practitioner,clinically, legally and professionally responsible for own caseload.

Responsible as a clinicalpractitioner in a specialist dietetic field, for delivering high qualityspecialist dietetic care. This will involve being guided by departmentalstandards, professional guidelines, broad occupational policies andprocedures.

Collect, analyse and recordrelevant patient information from clinical and patients sources to developeffective nutritional plans.

Responsible for providing highlyspecialised dietary advice within an in-patient and out-patient setting. Topatients in a distinct specialist area e.g. advice to renal dialysis patientson calcium and phosphate management oncology patients on enteral feeding

Communicate the nutrition anddietary treatment of patient to healthcare staff, other professionals andpatients carers. This may involve co coordinating nutritional care with othertrusts and centres outside the Trust.

Undertake comprehensive assessmentof patients with diverse and complex nutritional issues where investigativeand analytical skills are required to formulate accurate treatment plans

Responsible for developing andmaintaining an agreed level of expertise by updating own specialised clinicalknowledge and skills through attendance at post-graduate courses, clinicalupdates and in-service training.

Participate in the appraisalprocess as an appraise and develop a strategy for personal and continuousprofessional development, encompassing a portfolio-based assessment in linewith national legislation

Participate in audit withinspecialist areas, involving evaluation of research and audit projects tomeasure clinical effectiveness and promote evidence based practice

Undertake any other dutiesappropriate to the grade as requested / agreed with the line manager

Educationand training

Devise and implement specialisednutritional care plans for inpatients and outpatients according to currentnational guidelines and standards, including NSFs. This will involve advisingpatients, relatives or carers, individually or in a group setting.

Contribute to developing andmaintaining agreed levels of expertise of dietetic team members

Provide effective oral and writtenspecialised dietetic advice and information to patients and their carers toenable achievement of dietary aims.

Develop resources used in theeducation and training of patients, health professionals and the public

Deliver formal and informal talkson nutrition and dietetics to health care staff as required

Plan and deliver student trainingas assigned after an appropriate induction period / supervisory trainingcourse

Train ward staff to use dieteticresources appropriately

Participate in providingspecialised advice, teaching and training to other members of themultidisciplinary team regarding the nutritional managements of a specialisedgroup of patients

Be an active member of thein-service training programme through delivery of training sessions andtutorials at staff meetings and by attending external courses anddemonstrating reflective practice

Managerial

Disseminate clinical information toother members of the multidisciplinary team by attendance and participationin ward rounds and case conference as required.

Responsible for ordering andcancelling additional snacks and nutritional supplements from catering andpharmacy according to patients clinical condition and requirements.

Involved in the planning, settingand monitoring of departmental objectives and standards as assigned. Thiswill include contributing to the adaptation of national standards for use inthe local setting

Participate in surveys, researchand audit as required. Help to recommend any changes to practice afterdiscussion with supervisory / chief dietitian

Participate in the collection ofdata for management information purposes as requested

Ability to work independentlywithin appropriate professional and specialist guidelines

Maintain stock control of dietsheets, patient information and educational material for ward, discharge andoutpatient use.

Person Specification

Skills & behaviours

• Able to work in a team demonstrating time management skills and initiative
• Self-motivated and able to motivate staff and patients
• Innovative and willing to exchange develop and implement ideas
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Experience of delivering education and training

Qualifications

• BSc(Hons) Nutrition & Dietetics or Equivalent Experience of working as a Dietitian within a healthcare setting
• Attendance on relevant specialist accredited post-graduate courses at post-graduate diploma level or equivalent
• HCPC registration

Experience

• Demonstrate awareness of specialist dietetic areas
• Understand of clinical governance risk assessment and continuing quality improvement

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.