This position serves as a Clinical Dietetic Technician in the Nutrition and Food Services section of the VA Medical Center in San Antonio, TX and, as an Interdisciplinary Care Team member, is responsible for providing a high-level of technical assistance and support to the Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in providing all steps of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Care Process.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities will include: Works collaboratively with the Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Obtains, verifies, and interprets data needed to identify nutrition-related problems, their causes, and their significance Uses data obtained from the nutrition assessment to identify the chief nutrition problem, its etiology, and the signs and symptoms to support the diagnosis Develops and implementing the clinical nutrition care plan to address and manage the nutrition diagnosis Communicates, monitors, and documents (in the medical record) the response to nutrition therapy in accordance with regulatory standards Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday / 0730-1600 Position Description Title/PD#: Clinical Dietetic Technician/PD99792S Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, such as meal trays, instruction material, books and manuals. Some of the work is sedentary, such as computer activities. Computer entry of electronic progress notes, entailing multiple episodes of keyboard stokes is a daily responsibility. It may be necessary to push electronic equipment and arrange classroom areas in preparation of classes.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. General Requirements: Candidates for CDT positions must possess the following knowledges, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs): 1. Knowledge of Human Nutrition Requirements In Health And Disease: This includes knowledge of the nutrient needs and the indicators for nutritional care; ability to identify individuals at nutritional risk within the patient population using pre-established screening data; and ability to develop and/or adjust a nutritional care plan for patients not at nutritional risk. 2. Ability to Gather Data from the Medical Record and Document Information Pertinent to Nutritional Care: This requires knowledge of medical terminology, abbreviations, laboratory tests, clinical, social and anthropometric data sufficient to understand nutrition-related material in a medical record; ability to interpret a physician's diet order; and ability to record accurate and understandable nutrition care plan information, for example, diet history, screening data, etc. 3. Ability to Monitor and Influence the Patient's Nutritional Intake: This requires the ability to accurately observe and/or record dietary information from individual patients; knowledge of factors that influence or limit individual food choices, preferences and acceptance; knowledge of the psychological effect of food on the patient; ability to calculate the nutritional content of food intake; knowledge of the four basic food groups and the recommended amount of foods from each group; and knowledge of the principles and nutrient content of modified diets. 4. Ability to Provide Nutrition Education for Selected Groups of Patients: This includes the ability to identify basic nutrition education needs of individuals; ability to plan and present nutrition information for a pre-established patient outcome; ability to identify and use appropriate methods to determine a patient's understanding, compliance and use of nutrition principles; knowledge of meal planning, preparation, sanitation and food safety principles and the ability to teach them to patients. 5. Skill in Patient Interviewing and Nutrition Counseling: This includes knowledge of the principles of effective communication and ability to evaluate information obtained in a patient interview. 6. Ability to Interact and Communicate Orally with People from a Variety of Backgrounds: This includes other members of the health care team. 7. Ability to Function Effectively in a Support Position within a Clinical Dietetic Section of a General Medical and Surgical and/or Psychiatric Hospital: This involves the ability to follow oral and/or written instructions, ability to accomplish work within established time frames; ability to work under pressure with constant interruptions; and ability to maintain composure under adverse conditions. EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: Candidates must have successfully completed a course of study in an accredited college leading to an associate's degree in Dietetic Technology with an emphasis in Nutrition Care or the equivalent post-secondary education. In determining whether a candidate's education is equivalent, close attention should be paid to the numbers and types of courses completed and their content. The education should provide the candidate with the KSAOs listed above, particularly numbers 1 through 5 (KSAOs 6 and 7 can generally be acquired through experience). To do this it must have included instruction in nutrition care/diet therapy, the natural sciences (e.g., anatomy, physiology, biochemistry), social sciences (e. g., psychology, sociology), food sciences, medical terminology, communications and education. Because course titles vary, it is important to carefully evaluate course content in order to determine that these subjects are covered. In addition, qualifying education must include supervised field experience in a hospital or similar clinical setting. In addition to meeting the general requirement, you must meet the specialized experience described below. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of the effects of pharmacology with nutrition; knowledge of human nutrition requirements in health and disease; ability to assign Nutrition Diagnosis to Veterans meeting established criteria; basic knowledge of medical terminology; ability to organize and record statistical data for administrative reports. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Patient Care Food Service Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Technical Competence Communications Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, such as meal trays, instruction material, books and manuals. Some of the work is sedentary, such as computer activities. Computer entry of electronic progress notes, entailing multiple episodes of keyboard stokes is a daily responsibility. It may be necessary to push electronic equipment and arrange classroom areas in preparation of classes.

Education

There is no education substitution for this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]