Navajo Preference Employment Act

In accordance with Navajo Nation and federal law, TCRHCC has implemented an Affirmative Action Plan pursuant to the Navajo Preference in Employment Act.  Pursuant to this Plan and corresponding TCRHCC Policy, applicants who meet the necessary qualifications for this position and (1) are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe will be given preference in hiring and employment for this position, (2) are legally married to enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and meet residency requirements will be given secondary preference, and (3) are enrolled members of other federally-recognized American Indian Tribes will be given tertiary preference.
Overview

POSITION SUMMARY

This position is responsible for providing inpatient and outpatient medical nutrition therapy appropriate to medical diagnoses; providing diabetes self-management education; and using public health approaches to prevent and treat obesity, diabetes, and complications of diabetes. Provides case management services for a sub-population of patients with diabetes, e.g. newly-diagnosed, patients who are pregnant, diabetes in youth, uncontrolled T2DM, etc. These services promote efficient and effective use of a variety of health resources by focusing on the whole patient to provide a seamless continuum of care. The goals are the provision of quality health care, decreased fragmentation of care, enhancement of a patient’s self-care and quality of life and cost containment.  Incumbent also participates in weekend/holiday rotating on-call schedule to provide medical nutrition therapy for inpatients, with and without diabetes. This is a grant-funded position.

Qualifications

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Must have Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics or for graduates 2023 and after must have a Master’s Degree in Nutrition, Public Health     or related field.

Experience:

Must have at least (2) years of experience as clinical dietitian in an inpatient or outpatient setting; majority of experience should be in the field of diabetes self-management training/education.

       Certification:

• Must be a current Registered Dietitian in good standing with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)
• Must have a registered RD licensure from any state, if none, must obtain within (1) one month of hire.
• Must have and maintain a current valid certification of the following throughout employment:
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association

      Other Skills and Abilities:

A record of satisfactory performance in all prior and current employment as evidenced by positive employment references from previous and current employers.  All employment references must address and indicate success in each one of the following areas:

• Positive working relationships with others; cooperating effectively in teams for the benefit of patient care
• Possession of high ethical standards and no history of complaints
• Reliable and dependable; reports to work as scheduled without excessive absences
• Effective verbal and written communication skills; exceptional communication and interpersonal skills are essential
• Ability to prioritize duties and work independently; must be self-motivated
• Experience with Microsoft Office and other computer applications
• Demonstrates skills in program development and evaluation as it pertains to diabetes, obesity, CVD risk factor modification, and prevention efforts
• Familiarity and/or experience in the Chronic Care Model; training in behavioral modification strategies
• Knowledge of public health approaches to disease management, prevention, and behavior change
• Completion of and, above-satisfactory scores on all job interviews, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the interviewees and TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job
• Successful completion of and positive results from all background and reference checks, including positive employment references from authorized representatives of past and current employers demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC a record of satisfactory performance and that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job
• Successful completion of fingerprint clearance requirements, physical examinations, and other screenings indicating that the applicant is qualified to be employed by TCRHCC and demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job
• Submission of all required employment-related documents, applications, resumes, references, and other required information free of false, misleading, or incomplete information, as determined by TCRHCC.

MENTAL & PHYSICAL EFFORT

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL

Incumbent must be able to sit at a desk for long periods of time, write legibly and use a computer terminal.  The position requires the ability to frequently stand and walk. Other general physical abilities include the ability to occasionally bend, kneel, crouch, twist, maintain balance and reach. Incumbent has the sensory ability for hearing normal speech, hearing overhead page on loud speaker,  talk over the telephone and in person with others. This position requires sensory ability for frequent use of far vision, near vision, and seeing fine details. It also requires occasional sensory ability for color vision and depth perception. The expectation is the position may occasionally lift, push and pull up to 24lbs. Incumbent will need to have the hand manipulation ability with prolonged use of keyboard; occasionally need for simple grasping, fine manipulation, and firm grasping.

MENTAL

Incumbent must be able to prioritize and use good judgment; coordinate a variety of issues while being frequently interrupted; assess data such as lab values and weights. This position requires the mental and emotional prolonged ability to handle a degree of flexibility and demonstrate high degree of patience. The incumbent will frequent need the ability to concentrate, handle multiple priorities in a stressful situation, work alone, and work in areas that are close and crowded. Incumbent must be able to occasionally accept flexible schedules to meet unit needs.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL

Incumbent may occasionally be exposed to infectious diseases, chemical agents, dust, fumes, gases, extremes in temperature or humidity, hazardous or moving equipment

 

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Provides inpatient and outpatient medical nutrition therapy and diabetes self-management education.
2. Performs individual patient needs assessment to evaluate intervention priorities. Assesses patient needs, medical condition, lab values, nutrition and weight status, self-management abilities, psychosocial concerns, learning factors, mental and emotional health status, access to health care resources, and glycemic control. Provides appropriate level and frequency of care for patients and their families as identified in the individual assessment.
3. Provides diabetes self-management education in both individual and group settings utilizing the IHS “Balancing Your Life with Diabetes” and Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists curricula.
4. Understands and applies the ADA and IHS Diabetes Standards of Care.
5. Applies theoretical approaches such as motivational interviewing, stages of change theory, and empowerment theory to facilitate behavior change. Effectively communicates with patients and families in a culturally sensitive manner.
6. Recommends adjustment of treatment plan utilizing patient blood glucose monitoring data to optimize glycemic control. If adjustments in medications are indicated, consultation with the primary care provider or attending physician is done; if the primary care provider or attending physician is not available, consultation will be done with the physician on call from the same service.
7. Utilize a case management model to follow a specific sub-population of diabetes patients, e.g. newly-diagnosed, adolescents, pregnant patients, high-risk patients, etc. Ensures patients receive recommended services and appropriate follow-up.
8. Collaborates with medical, nursing, and other staff throughout TCRHCC to provide coordinated, team-based, high-quality diabetes and nutrition care in all settings.
9. Provides consultant services to the TCRHCC Dietary Department as needed, such as trayline monitoring, menu updates, and in-service training.
10. Serves as a clinical expert and resource on diabetes and nutrition to TCRHCC. Initiates and develops in-service training to staff to keep staff updated on issues pertaining to diabetes and nutrition.
11. Provides inpatient medical nutrition therapy to patients with and without diabetes on a rotating weekend/holiday on-call schedule and as needed during weekday.
12. Maintains confidentiality regarding administrative and patient related care.
13. Maintains current licensure, job-related competencies, and knowledge of evidence-based guidelines through active participation in continuing education, independent study, seminars, in-services, and dialogue with colleagues.
14. Develops and assists with Performance Improvement initiatives.
15. Employs the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist ADCES7 Self-Care Behaviors framework.
16. Ensure proper PPE is worn at all times while on duty including but not limited to, face mask, gloves, gown, isolation gown, NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher, if available), and eye or face shield.
17. Complete all donning and doffing tasks in a safe acceptable method and discard of used PPE accordingly. (see CDC website for most current updates)
18. Complete task training for all routine cleaning and decontamination processes for all surfaces contaminated by a communicable disease to ensure a high level of patient, visitor, employee, and external customer satisfaction.
19. Performs other duties as assigned.