The Clinical Dietician supports the facility's mission and coordinates nutritional care with other health care providers, the veteran, the veteran's caregiver and the community. This position will serve as the medical nutrition expert within the Clinical Section of Nutrition and Food Services (NFS). The Clinical Dietitian is autonomous in their work in applying evidenced-based nutrition guidelines for all patients, including those with complex medical & nutritional needs.

Duties

Serves as a professional and technical advisor to staff and other health care professionals. Develops and leads clinical nutrition operations. Represents the Clinical Nutrition Section on projects, committees and/or workgroups within the department and facility. Assumes full responsibility for planning, directing and assessing the work and competence of subordinate staff. Collaborates with other managers in the medical center to negotiate and/or make decisions on NFS related matters affecting clinical operations. Provides Clinical Nutrition Section specific leadership and exercises a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities. Develops procedures and guidelines for clinical operations and monitors compliance with regulatory standards and policies and procedures. Participates in performance improvement efforts within Clinical Nutrition section acting on quality improvement data and plans. Identifies and prioritized problems, sets long and short term goals, identifies action plans for the clinical section and nutrition programs. Build and implements contingency plans within the section, ensuring continuity of clinical operations in all internal and external emergency situations. Executes the training plan for the clinical section and ensures staff remain up to date on advances and changes in medical nutrition therapy. Orients and trains employees related to clinical nutrition and appropriate policies and procedures. Assists with employee onboarding. Ensures that materials utilized in Veteran education are evidence-based, using current literature and research. Analyses data (i.e., event capture, clinic utilization) to recommend allocation of clinical nutrition resources. Ensures evidence-based guidelines are integrated into clinical practice. Ensures Veteran education materials are written with based on evidence-based guidelines, current literature, practice, and research. Collaborates with the food operations staff, bridging the work of the clinical nutrition staff to the food services provided to Veterans. Collaborates closely with the supervisory dietitians to cover the work in all NFS and execute the activities of the department. May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Telework: Available per needs of the service, Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: PD000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. b. Education and Supervised Practice (1) The individual must have earned a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university or foreign equivalent and fulfilled each of the following criteria: (a) Completed a didactic program in dietetics accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), formerly known as the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetic Education (CADE). (b) Completed an ACEND accredited or approved supervised practice program. Supervised practice programs are post-baccalaureate degree programs that provide supervised practice experiences which meet the eligibility requirements and accreditation standards of ACEND, formally known as CADE. Completion of a coordinated program in dietetics fulfills the requirements of a supervised practice program. Time spent in a dietetic internship or supervised practice program does not qualify as creditable experience. (2) Individuals who have earned college and/or university degrees outside the United States and its territories also must have their transcripts evaluated by a foreign transcript evaluation service to determine if their degree is equivalent to a degree granted by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Validation of a foreign degree does not eliminate the need for verification of completion of didactic program, dietetic internship, or coordinated program requirements. The completion of ACEND didactic program requirements and at least a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college/university or foreign equivalent are necessary for eligibility to enter an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program. (c) Registration/Certification. All applicants must be registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) the credentialing branch of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics formerly known as the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Advanced Level Practice Dietitians must possess a minimum of one advanced practice credential relevant to the area of practice, (e.g. Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC), Board Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition (CSR), Board Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition (CSG), Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), or Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO)). (1) Exception. Non-CDR registered applicants who otherwise meet the minimum qualification requirements may be appointed, pending CDR registration, as a temporary full-time graduate dietitian under 38 U.S.C. 7405(a)(1)(B). In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2), this appointment may not exceed 2 years. Applicants appointed under this exception must provide care under the supervision of a registered dietitian at or above the full performance level. Applicants who fail to obtain CDR registration during this temporary full-time appointment may be terminated. The exception only applies to positions at the GS-7 and GS-9 level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level the candidate must be registered with the CDR. (2) Failure to Obtain Registration. In all cases, dietitians must actively pursue meeting registration requirements starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unregistered dietitian with the written requirement to obtain registration, the date by which the registration must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming registered by the deadline. Failure to become registered within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0630 Dietitian series and may result in termination of employment. (3) Loss of Credentials. An employee who fails to maintain the required registration must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment. At the advanced level practice assignment, an employee who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the assignment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may remain at an appropriate assignment in the occupation when the credential is not a requirement and a placement opportunity exists. d. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a dietitian on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and registration requirements or board certification, if applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following apply: e. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. f. English Language Proficiency. Dietitians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d). Grade Determinations: Supervisory Dietitian (Clinical Nutrition), GS-13. (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Skill in written communication including policy development and standard operating procedures. (b) Skill in strategic planning to develop goals, objectives and action plans. (c) Skill in analyzing data to monitor progress towards improving and sustaining outcomes. (d) Ability to negotiate. (e) Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance). (3) Assignment. For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision over Dietitians at the GS-12 level or below. Supervisory Dietitians in this Clinical Nutrition assignment report to the NFS Chief. They make decisions based on intricate and unrelated information and assumptions from inconclusive or variable data in all aspects of nutrition operations. They provide clinical nutrition section-specific leadership and exercise a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities in planning, directing and assessing the work of subordinate staff. Supervisory Dietitians establish a training plan for the clinical section. They develop and lead clinical nutrition operations, establish strategic goals and ensure priorities align with the strategic plan of the NFS department, VISN and national programs. Supervisory Dietitians identify and prioritize problems, set long and short-term goals, develop action plans and analyze data to evaluate progress to improve outcomes. They are responsible for developing and updating policies and procedures and establishing and overseeing a system for regulatory compliance. Supervisory Dietitians solicit support and/or negotiate with facility managers to influence decision making and garner support to ensure clinical nutrition operations succeed. They collaborate closely with the food operations section to enhance the Veteran's dining experience and to support the strategic goals of the food service section and NFS. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

ACEND accredited programs are located on the ACEND website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory.

Contacts

• Address VA Maryland Health Care System 10 North Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201 US
• Name: Larry Choice
• Phone: (410)-691-6340
• Email: [email protected]