Team Lead Weight Management Specialist

JOB SUMMARY To be responsible for the day to day co-ordination and management of dietetics within the designated clinical area, undertaking a complex, multi-functional role, combining managerial, clinical and professional duties and responsibilities. To have an identified clinical role for highly complex cases within their designated service. To provide advice and support to other dietitians and members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) within the service. To facilitate collaborative working across dietetics, maximising on the skills of the other dietitians, dietetic assistants and other staff. To liaise with the consultants and other medical, therapy and nursing staff, social services, voluntary agencies, third sector and the private sector. This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The postholder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as directed. The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the postholder when
necessary and in line with the service developments. KEY RESULT AREAS: Clinical To comply with the Dietetics and Health Care Professions Council code of ethics and professional conduct and to adhere to national and local policies and procedures. To be professionally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, including management of patients with complex needs. To work autonomously, planning and prioritising plan and prioritise own patient caseload (where appropriate), with highly complex needs, using highly specialist dietetic skills. Assess and analyse dietary intake to identify problem areas in order to plan and carry out goal orientated intervention programmes with the patients. Balancing risk, safety and patient choice in order to promote maximum independence. Use excellent communication and negotiation skills to establish a caring and therapeutic relationship in complex and sometimes highly complex cases, taking into account the views and wishes of service users, carers
and families, using their autonomy. Monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure patient safety, thus maximising effectiveness of dietetic intervention. To work with patients/families to aid their acceptance, understanding and management of their condition/disability. To provide the necessary support required in a sometimes hostile/antagonistic or highly emotional atmosphere. To use highly advanced clinical reasoning and a wide range of treatment skills which implement evidence based practice. To produce nutrition education resources, diet sheets and patient literature, ensuring that these convey complex nutritional information in an understandable form for clients who may have barriers to understanding. To be responsible for risk assessments and make recommendations to reduce risk to meet the needs of service users, staff, and the wider service/ organisation. To maintain complete, accurate, defensible clinical records commensurate with the Trust
and Dietetic professional standards. To have and maintain a current working knowledge of the safe use of a range of equipment and products relevant to the service area. To actively encourage the provision of placements for student dietitians and support team members with students training and appraisal. To be involved and committed to dietetic audit, evidence based practice and clinical research where appropriate, in order to promote best possible practice in the relevant clinical area. In the capacity as a representative of dietetic services to liaise and communicate effectively with consultants, senior managers, professional lead, other medical, therapy and nursing staff, social services, voluntary and private agencies. To identify the need for education/training programmes to a broad range of health and social care workers, on complex nutritional issues (insert relevant area e.g. palliative care, eating disorders, dementia), symptom management and
communication skills, and to organise, plan, deliver and evaluate training programmes. To undertake a multi-disciplinary approach to the care of a specialist group of service users (insert specialist area e.g. palliative care, eating disorders, dementia), encouraging integrated working and maximising the potential for inter-disciplinary collaboration, to improve service user outcomes and ensure delivery of a co-ordinated service through interpretation/application of local and national frameworks and guidance. To undertake own continuous professional development (CPD), participate in regular clinical and managerial supervision, to organise peer reviews and maintain up to date knowledge of local and national guidance relevant to the area of speciality through research and work within clinical interest groups. To ensure all dietetic staff members take responsibility for their own CPD. To be responsible for the effective delivery of clinical support and supervision to
all dietetic staff within the team. To be responsible for raising appropriate issues with the Professional Lead. For full job description, please see attached supporting documents.