Clinical Specialist Dietitian

Description:

Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is an exciting and dynamic place to work. The team at the Hospital are in the midst of implementing a new hospital strategy that has already delivered on the opening of a new renal unit, day surgery centre, step down facility in the community and the start of building works on a new ICU extension. It is an exciting time to join the TUH team and one of Ireland’s main teaching hospitals with so many plans to enhance patient care. The Hospital believes in investing in their team and offers excellent education and research opportunities.
TUH is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The Hospital has 450 adult beds with over 3,500 people on staff and more than 50 different nationalities represented. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialties. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country, a regional orthopaedic trauma centre and a designated trauma unit.
TUH is one of the two main academic teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as medicine nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. TUH is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
TUH Vision and Values
The vision of the Hospital is “ People Caring for People to Live Better Lives” through excellent health outcomes supported by evidenced based practice, positive patient and staff experience in an empowering and caring environment. A culture of innovation and quality improvement in everything we do.
Our TUH CARE values – for patients, their families, our community and staff are:

• Collaborate – together and with our academic and care partners
• Achieve – our goals, positive outcomes and wellbeing
• Respect – for patients, each other and our environment
• Equity – for patients and staff

At TUH we view our staff as our most valuable asset and every member of the Team is valued equally. We recognise that a skilled, satisfied and motivated workforce is a prerequisite to high quality care.The Clinical Specialist Dietitian, who will work across the Emergency Department and Acute floor services, will be responsible for ensuring that patients who are nutritionally compromised are assessed and managed in a timely manner and that protocols and guidelines are put in place to ensure that patients are transferred onward or redirected to the appropriate dietetic services.

• Undertake Nutritional Assessment, in Emergency Department (ED), of patients who are malnourished and require admission for medical stabilisation and refeeding management

• Develop, in collaboration with the Emergency Department team, guidelines for the screening of patients considered to be malnourished or at high risk of malnutrition, which will include pathways of care for such patients, to ensure they access appropriate dietetic care, either as inpatients (if admitted) or in the community (if discharged).

• Review the guidelines for the management of patients who attend the ED with Enteral feeding tube related problems, such as displacement, and develop protocols for the management of same

• Develop, in collaboration with the Emergency Department team, protocols for patients with chronic diseases, who require dietetic intervention and education, to ensure they access appropriate dietetic care/chronic disease programmes in the community.

• Work with the senior dietitians across the acute floor services, to ensure the delivery dietetic services and to develop protocols for “out of hours” services.

• Support effective team work, across the acute floor and ED setting as well as within the Dietetics Department
• Evaluate services to demonstrate their appropriateness and effectiveness; report on these periodically
• Participate in service planning and work in collaboration with consultants and Dietitian manager to further develop the service.
• Develop and maintain high standards of evidence-based practice for the service.
• Initiate and actively participate in audit and in quality improvement initiatives
• Contribute to the enhancement of clinical practice through participation in audit and research
• Participate in and contribute to the development of education & training programs, for staff across the acute floor and emergency staff
• Participate in and contribute to the further development of the Departments practice placement program for student Dietitians
• Participate in the development and delivery of post graduate teaching relevant to the area of assignment , formal and informal, and both internal and external to the hospital
• Be responsible for her/his own continuous professional development
• Act as a consultant to health care professionals both within and outside Tallaght University Hospital on the nutritional management of patient in the emergency and acute care settings

• Provide regular assessment and feedback to Dietitians working in his/her area
• Participate in the Departments professional supervision program

• Record statistical information and produce reports as required
• Undertake risk assessments, as required

• Explore the use of technology to enhance service delivery