Specialist Paediatric Dietitian - CF and General

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Main Duties and Responsibilities

Development, application and dissemination of expertise

· To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of work in compliance with the ethical code of practice set out by the Health and Care Professions Council.

· To work with the dietetic and multidisciplinary teams to formulate and deliver individual dietetic treatment plans for patients based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, critical thinking, reasoning skills and knowledge of a wide range of dietetic treatments.

· Contribute to the local development and delivery of structured education programmes.

· Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

· Evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment regimens as required.

· To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload.

· Work within Trust clinical guidelines and to have good working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor quality of practice as appropriate.

· To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with British Dietetic Association (BDA) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards of practice.

Team working, decision making and communication

· Represent the dietetic service and/or individual patients at multidisciplinary team meetings, to ensure the delivery of a coordinated multidisciplinary service, and integrate dietetic therapy into the treatment programme. This will include discussion of patient care and patient progress.

· Use a broad range of counselling techniques including cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing to support people living with CF (and their carers). To listen non judgmentally and empathetically to provide a safe environment to explore and address any barriers and facilitators for change.

· To provide expert dietary advice to patients, carers and clinicians regarding provision of nutrition and dietetic support for patients based on clinical evidence. This requires detailed nutritional and lifestyle assessment; to include the calculation of nutritional requirements based on the interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometrics, clinical condition and other physical parameters.

· Liaise with the catering department to promote optimal nutrition for inpatients with liver disease when needed.

· To provide expert liver disease dietetic care to the wider community including healthcare and education providers and support schools.

Audit and research

· Undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence based practice projects, audit and outcome measures either individually or with more senior dietitians or other healthcare providers.

· To initiate and participate in regular research and audit within the specialised area. This includes coordination and supervision of research projects for undergraduate dietetic students. Relevant findings will be published or presented at appropriate conferences.

· To undertake as directed the collection of data for use in service audit and research projects. To manage and undertake research into specific areas of clinical practice and service delivery using a range of research methodologies as part of MDT audit and departmental research initiatives.

· To research, develop, audit and publish evidence based departmental patient information literature for use within and outside the trust. Development will involve involvement of appropriate patient groups.

Development activities

· To be an active team member of the dietetic department at King’s participating in departmental developments and attending monthly staff and continuing professional development meetings.

· To participate in the development, implementation and update of operational and professional standards and policies for the specialist dietetic service.

· To assist the Head of Nutrition & Dietetics in ensuring that department resources are used to best effect and in appropriate aspects of budget management.