Nutrition Technician

J  o  b    D  e  s  c  r  i  p  t  i  o  n

JOB INFORMATION

Effective Date:

5/1/2022

Entity:

Wisconsin

Job Code:

430002

Job Title:

Nutrition Technician

FLSA Exemption Status:

Non-Exempt

Management Level:

Individual Contributor

JOB SUMMARY

The Nutrition Technician executes patient nutrition directives in collaboration with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist(s). Primary responsibilities include conducting individualized and group nutrition education to patients as well as screening and routine assessments, which include review of vital signs, anthropometric measurements, and dietary interviews to identify food preferences, food and nutrient intake, and factors relative to eating behaviors. The Nutrition Technician drafts meal plans for complex diets and/or patients with complex medical conditions and provides oversight of meal plans drafted by the Nutrition Assistants. The Technician coordinates meal selections with diet orders and monitors the quality and accuracy of food served to patients. The Nutrition Technician collects, maintains, and communicates data relative to the patient's dietary requirements and monitors satisfaction and tolerance of meals.

The Nutrition Technician functions as part of an inter-professional team and is responsible for attending daily huddles to support teamwork and collaboration. The incumbent is knowledgeable of nutrition-related education resources and community programs and assists with referrals as appropriate, including the distribution of food through the inpatient food pantry program to support the patient across the continuum of care. This position is also responsible for providing education in individual or group settings on nutrition, health maintenance, and disease prevention.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

•

Completes and/or reviews nutrition screening of inpatient admissions and collects additional data that may impact the patient’s health condition or nutritional risk and communicates findings to the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist(s) and culinary staff.

•

Implements nutrition interventions that are outlined by the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Collects additional data to support the monitoring and evaluation of the patient’s nutrition care plan and makes recommendations for adjustments to improve the patient’s recovery and/or support his/her health condition.

•

Coordinates, plans, and/or corrects menus and between-meal snacks for patients to be compliant with diet orders. Monitors and verifies changes in diet orders or prescriptions and helps individuals understand their health condition while providing education and developing strategies to improve their health and wellbeing.

•

Conducts and/or attends inter-professional patient rounds to assess adequacy of nutrition intake and patient satisfaction with meals and meal service.

•

Coordinates and conducts periodic tray assessments in collaboration with the Culinary Services and Clinical Nutrition management teams to ensure the accuracy and quality of diet prescriptions and nutrition education.

•

Provides individual or group nutrition education and culinary skills training to patients and families and assists in education of students and employees.

•

Organizes and prioritizes daily work schedule to support the work of the Nutrition Assistants and the Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.

As needed, additional responsibilities reasonably within the scope of duties and physical requirements may be assigned.  ALL DUTIES AND REQUIREMENTS MUST BE PERFORMED CONSISTENT WITH THE UW HEALTH PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND RESPECT FOR PEOPLE COMMITTMENTS.

X

Clinical

Will provide all patients age and culturally appropriate assessment/screening and interpretation of clinical and laboratory data. Develops and implements age appropriate interventional plans of care including education within the parameters of their position responsibilities and licensure

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Associate's Degree

in Nutrition or related field

Required

Bachelor's Degree

in Nutrition or related field

Preferred

2 years

of experience as a Nutrition Technician, Diet Clerk, or other nutrition related work

Required

Registered as a Nutrition and Dietetic Technician, Registered (NDTR) as delineated by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

within 6 months

Required

or

OR in lieu of the above:

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist as delineated by the Commission on Dietetic Registration Upon Hire or obtained within 6 months

within 6 months

Required

and

Certification/Licensure as required by the State of Wisconsin within 3 months of the start date

within 3 months

Required

LICENSE, CERTIFICATIONS, AND REGISTRATIONS MUST BE MAINTAINED PER UW HEALTH POLICY. 

•

Knowledge of the Nutrition Care Process and ability to apply all steps

•

Ability to multi-task and work in a self-directed environment

•

Communicates clearly and effectively in both written and verbal formats

•

Ability to deliver health information using culturally appropriate terms and concepts to adult learners

•

Possesses general experience and knowledge of nutrient analysis

•

Possesses general experience and knowledge of word processing software

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS

☐

Sedentary: Sedentary work involves lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met.

Up to 10#

Negligible

Negligible

☒

Light: Light work involves lifting no more than 20 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may be very little, a job is in this category when it requires a good deal of walking or standing, or when it involves sitting most of the time with some pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. To be considered capable of performing a full or wide range of light work, you must have the ability to do substantially all of these activities. If someone can do light work, we determine that they can also do sedentary work, unless there are additional limiting factors such as loss of fine dexterity or inability to sit for long periods of time.

up to 20#

Up to 10# or requires significant walking or standing or requires pushing/pulling of arm/leg controls.

Negligible or constant push/pull of items of negligible weight

☐

Medium: Medium work involves lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. If someone can do medium work, we determine that they can also do sedentary and light work.

20-50#

10-25#

Negligible-10#

☐

Heavy: Heavy work involves lifting no more than 100 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 50 pounds. If someone can do heavy work, we determine that they can also do medium, light, and sedentary work.

50-100#

25-50#

10-20#

☐

Very Heavy: Very heavy work involves lifting objects weighing more than 100 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing 50 pounds or more. If someone can do very heavy work, we determine that they can also do heavy, medium, light, and sedentary work.

Over 100#

Over 50#

Over 20#

Other - list any other physical requirements or bona fide occupational qualifications not indicated above:

Over 50 lbs.

UW Health does not require, nor does it expect that its employees lift more than 50 lbs unassisted. Objects in excess of 50 lbs should be lifted or moved with mechanical means or through a team lift. Employees in patient care areas are expected to utilize mechanical lifts and adhere to the "Use of Mechanical Lifts (Liko)" policy in the Patient Services Policy and Procedure Manual.

Note: The purpose of this document is to describe the general nature and level of work performed by personnel so classified; it is not intended to serve as an inclusive list of all responsibilities associated with this position.

THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB WITH OR WITHOUT AN APPROVED ACCOMODATION. Note: The purpose of this document is to describe the general nature and level of work performed by personnel so classified; it is not intended to serve as an inclusive list of all responsibilities associated with this position.