Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice)

Description:

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Employees in this assignment serve as an Advanced Level Practice Dietitian at the Thomas H. Corey VA Medical Center within the West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System. They conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice.

Requirements:

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD) - 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).

NOTE : Applicants who hold the RDN credential have met the education requirement (e.g. bachelor's degree or higher) of CDR. As such, this occupation is considered professional and scientific with a positive education requirement.

Foreign Education. To be creditable, college and/or university degrees earned outside the U.S and its territories must be evaluated by ACEND® and meet ACEND®'s International Dietitian Education standards which are designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and competencies to sit for the CDR credentialing exam.

Individual Occupational Requirements
In addition to requirements above and below, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in the fields of dietetics, food, nutrition, food service management, institution management, or related science. The educational program must have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics(external link) (ACEND), or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. For dietitian positions, the curriculum must have been in accordance with the qualifying requirements established by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)(external link) (formerly American Dietetic Association(external link) (ADA) prior to January 1, 2012) in effect at the time of graduation.
• Completion of a coordinated undergraduate program, internship, or other clinical component approved by AND (formerly ADA) for dietitians or nutritionists.
• Professional registration as a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

GRADE REQUIREMENTS - All individuals assigned to this occupation must meet all the basic qualification requirements as well as the Grade Level Requirements below.

GS-12 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).

Certification-Documentation Submitted . Must hold an advanced practice certification from a nationally recognized certifying body such as the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists or the National Board of Nutrition Certification. The certification must be directly related to the assignment being filled.

• NOTE : This position requires Certification as a Board-Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Skill in leading a team in the implementation of nutrition-related activities.
• Skill in utilizing evidence- based practice guidelines to establish or modify goals and improve patient outcomes.
• Ability to communicate in writing to develop policies and standard operating procedures.
• Ability to serve as a nutrition expert, providing technical guidance, direction and staff development.
• Ability to lead research or performance improvement studies.
• Ability to present complex nutrition information to a large group of health care providers to persuade and influence provision of care.

Assignment . For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Employees in this assignment serve as an Advanced-Level Dietitian. They conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using the NCP assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead a multidisciplinary team developing nutrition-related services, policies, procedures and/or protocols. They provide consultative services regarding advanced therapies and research in providing quality nutritional care. Advanced Level Dietitians develop, monitor and direct practice-specific benchmarks based on standards of care or national initiatives. They utilize knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to plan, implement and evaluate organizational initiatives. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead the implementation of new nutrition initiatives or a change in practice to achieve strategic goals. They establish goals, measure outcomes and report progress toward meeting goals to medical center committees, health care teams and/or professional groups. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead staff, create and validate competencies and develop training activities. They lead nutrition research studies or performance improvement and communicate findings through reports, abstracts, presentations and/or peer-reviewed professional publications. Advanced-Level Dietitians present at seminars, workshops and lectures to convey current nutrition information on new and changing concepts. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

Preferred Experience: Experience in Oncology Nutrition as a Board-Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO)- Documentation Submitted.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.