Specialist Dietitian

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dietitian to develop and enhance their knowledge and practice in providing nutrition for acute patients at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

The successful applicant will join the friendly dietetic team at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells (MTW) NHS Trust and support the Acute Team Lead at Tunbridge Wells. Working with members of the MDT the team delivers a dietetic service to acute and critical care inpatients.

The Trust and our Department are committed to the provision of outstanding patient care by outstanding people. We are a friendly and supportive department which encourages innovation and is committed to professional development of staff.

This role could be a development opportunity for an experienced band 5 Dietitian to progress to a Band 6 role.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for a varied and challenging caseload including general medicine and oncology but with a focus on gastroenterology. In addition, you will run regular outpatient clinics, contribute to the induction programmes for other health care professionals, deliver a regular cardiac rehabilitation session and participate in clinical audit.

You will have the support of senior dietitians and have the opportunity to develop and enhance your dietetic skills in a variety of specialties including critical care and ITU, respiratory and gastroenterology. We have an established student training programme for A, B and C placements in which you will be involved and there will be opportunities to contribute to audits and service development.

Please visit the video link below to provide you with an insightas to why you should come and join our fantastic therapy department at MTW

About us

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is a large acute hospital Trust in the county of Kent.

The Trust provides a full range of general hospital services and some areas of specialist complex care to around 760,000 people living in the south part of West Kent and the north part of East Sussex.

The Trust's core catchment areas are Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and their surrounding boroughs. We work from two main clinical sites: Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury. Tunbridge Wells Hospital opened in 2011 and provides single rooms with en-suites for all in-patients - the first of its kind in the country.

We employ more than 7,000 full and part-time staff in a huge range of clinical and non-clinical roles across both of our hospital sites.

Would you like to work flexibly?In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Once your pre-employment checks have been completed you will be contacted by Recruitment to arrange your start date which will be in line with one of our Corporate Inductions.

Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure & Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children).

At MTW, we seek to develop a culture where everyone can reach their full potential with opportunities to grow and develop their career. We recognise and value the unique contributions that each of our staff bring, delivering the best quality care and service to our patients. We are committed to being a diverse employer and strive to reflect everyone in our local communities. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences and celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that will make our Trust the best place to work.

We support our staff with disabilities to ensure they have the adjustments they need to be the best they can be in the workplace.Collaborating with Access to Work means that our staff are assessed by experts in the workplace and we ensure that their recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible. You can find out more here: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - (

Interview Date: To be confirmed.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

or Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics or equivalent qualification Current state registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Desirable

Member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional insurance Relevant post graduate training in clinical dietetics Member of a BDA Specialist Group and / or BAPEN

Experience & Knowledge

Essential

Experience of working as a band 5 dietitian and seeing a variety of adult inpatients and outpatients Experience of managing patients requiring enteral nutrition Experience of managing enteral feed discharges Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team Experience working with groups of patients Experience of teaching and training dietetic colleagues and other members of the MDT Experience of contributing to service development initiatives and participating in clinical audit Up-to-date clinical knowledge of the nutritional management of a wide variety of clinical conditions based on current best practice Good knowledge of national policies and procedures relating to nutrition and dietetics Good knowledge of the principles of clinical governance

Desirable

Experience of training undergraduate dietetic students Experience of manging patients with complex nutritional support requirements including enteral and parenteral nutrition Experience of working with IBD patients, patients with disordered eating and IBS patients requiring the low FODMAP diet Relevant post graduate training in clinical dietetics Knowledge of the principles of clinical audit

Skills

Essential

Excellent oral and written communication skills with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and excellent interpersonal skills, including observation, listening and empathy skills Good analytical and reflection skills, and commitment to engage in CPD and the appraisal process Able to prioritise and manage own workload to achieve deadlines Ability to work independently and be self-motivated Good time management and organisational skills Good presentation skills, both written and verbal Evidence of a high standard of record keeping Competent and accurate IT skills with ability to use Microsoft word, PowerPoint, data collection tools, and willingness to develop these skills Competent to use specialist equipment for anthropometric assessment

Desirable

Counselling skills or post graduate training in behaviour change techniques Experience of using dietary analysis packages Supervisory and / or mentorship skills

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