COMMUNITY DIETITIAN

Family Centers Health Care; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health organization in St. Louis seeks a Community Dietitian to provide Medical Nutrition Therapy and services to improve health outcomes. The candidate must possess a Master’s degree in Nutrition, complete an accredited dietetic internship, and be a Registered Dietitian or RD eligible. Responsibilities include nutrition assessment, assessment for WIC clients, and collaboration with medical teams to ensure comprehensive patient care. The role emphasizes cultural competence and excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Nutrition or related field required.
• Completion of a dietetic internship program accredited by ACEND.
• Registered Dietitian or RD eligible required.

Responsibilities

• Provides medical nutrition therapy services to improve health outcomes.
• Assists in WIC Local Agency Plan development.
• Provides nutrition assessment, education and counseling for WIC populations.
• Collaborates with medical professionals to meet patient needs.

Skills

Medical Nutrition Therapy

Motivational interviewing

Cultural competence

Communication skills

Education

Master’s degree in Nutrition

Completion of accredited dietetic internship

Registered Dietitian or RD eligible

Job description

DEPARTMENT: HEALTH OPERATIONS

JOB TITLE: COMMUNITY DIETITIAN

I. BASIC FUNCTION:

Provides Medical Nutrition Therapy services to patients at Family Care Health Centers.

All employees of FCHC must ensure service standards are delivered, including:

FCHC Core

• Demonstrates a commitment to FCHC mission and vision.
• Demonstrates a positive attitude towards patients, employees, role, and the health center.
• Demonstrates FCHC core values (accountability, courtesy, excellence, flexibility, integrity, respect).

Customer Service and Professionalism

• Smiles and makes appropriate contact, greets individuals upon entry into building and space.
• Is customer service oriented to both internal (colleagues) and external (patients, clients, vendors, etc.).
• Customers. Treats patients, customers and colleagues with dignity and respect.
• Provides timely response to requests, tasks, and inquiries. Demonstrates good service turnaround.
• Demonstrates good communication skills and communicates in a tactful manner.
• Exhibits conflict resolution skills in order to foster effective working relationships and embraces a team approach.
• Adheres to FCHC’s dress code policies. Employee appearance and grooming appropriate.

Show(s)

• Consistently shows commitment to position and team performance (i.e., attendance and punctuality).
• Consideration and acceptance of cultural differences of others; works well with individuals of diverse backgrounds, supporting a culture of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Participates in training and professional development and completes required trainings in a timely manner.

Safety

• Adheres to and promotes a culture of safety and cleanliness.
• Adheres to HIPPA/Confidentiality standards.
• Respectful of FCHC property, properly and safely uses Health Center Equipment.

II. INTRADEPARTMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS:

Department Officer: Chief Operations Officer

Reports to: Nutrition Services Director

Supervises: None

III. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provides medical nutrition therapy services to improve health outcomes and utilizes scientific practice guidelines and motivational interviewing to result in measurable behavior change. Coordinates with other departments to provide integrated services and wrap around care for patients.
2. Assists in the development and implementation of WIC Local Agency Plan to maintain WIC caseload and improve health outcomes of WIC population.
3. Provides participant-centered nutrition assessment, education and counseling for individuals enrolled in the WIC program.
4. Prioritizes nutritional concerns of various age and population groups using appropriate anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, dietary, and socioeconomic assessment techniques. Provides equitable care to individuals including working closely with interpreters for patients with limited English proficiency and providing culturally appropriate interventions.
5. Provides support to promote and protect breastfeeding as optimal infant feeding practices to increase health equity.
6. Participates in the integration of nutrition services into the agency's overall mission, goals, and plans.
7. Communicates effectively and works closely with WIC staff to create an efficient system and quality program while maintaining WIC caseload.
8. Collaborates with other medical professionals to best meet the needs of the patient.
9. Maintains familiarity with the roles and operations of community agencies, committees, task forces, coalitions and partnerships, and makes referrals as appropriate. Actively participates and leads initiatives in conjunction with other departments including health fairs, health promotion projects, and outreach events.
10. Attends nutrition department meetings, trainings and continuing education opportunities in order to stay up to date on evidence-based scientific guidelines for patient care.
11. Serves as preceptor for multiple dietetic internship programs.

IV. PERIODIC DUTIES:

1. Plans health and nutrition related events/activities as appropriate.
2. Provides assistance with scheduling appointments and WIC benefit issuance, as needed.
3. Provides education and mentoring opportunities to co-workers and other healthcare staff to support professional development and improve quality of patient care.
4. Performs other duties as assigned.

V. WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Inside Health Center: All inclusive.

Outside Health Center: Patients, health care professionals, and other community health agencies.

VI. QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Master’s degree in Nutrition or related field required.
2. Completion of a dietetic internship program accredited or approved by The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics – Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) resulting in a verification statement from an Internship Program in Nutrition and Dietetics.
3. Registered Dietitian or RD eligible required.
4. One to two years experience in a community health setting preferred.

VII. CONTINUING EDUCATION:

Continued education in nutrition-related field is required.

VIII. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, Missouri Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics St. Louis encouraged.

IX. CONFIDENTIALITY:

Respect for and maintenance of client and staff confidentiality is required.

*Position is contingent upon continued WIC funding.

The above responsibilities/duties describe the chief function (requirements) of the job (holder) and are not to be considered a detailed description of every responsibility/duty (requirement) of the job (holder).