Diabetic Educator

Gateway Community Health Center - Laredo, TX

Full-time - Entry Level

Laredo, TX

Ambulatory Health Care Services

About the position

The position involves counseling individuals and groups on nutritional practices designed to prevent and manage disease while promoting good health. The role includes evaluating individual needs, developing nutritional care plans, instructing individuals and their families, performing nutrition screenings, providing insulin teaching, and offering Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) on various diet-related concerns such as weight management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes education, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, sports nutrition, healthy meal plans, and other chronic diseases or conditions. The position is directly supervised by the Chief Medical Officer.

Responsibilities

• Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions and current health plans, to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling for Center patients.
• Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient.
• Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans and diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
• Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
• Develop policies related to dietary and nutritional guidelines to assist in health promotion and disease control.
• Update policies and procedures in accordance with current dietary and nutritional standards of care.
• Develop curriculum and prepare manuals, visual aids, course outlines, and other materials used in dietetics and nutrition teaching.
• Coordinate medical nutrition therapy services.
• Conduct telemedicine visits at health center locations or non-health center locations (from provider's home) for registered patients of the Center.
• Plan and conduct training programs in dietetics and nutrition for health-care personnel, health promoters and the general public.
• Function as part of a team while being self-motivated and self-directed.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of patient information and patient records.
• Serve as resource and nutrition specialist for the behavioral health program and the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program staff.
• Document the nutrition counseling sessions in the Electronic Health Record on the appropriate templates.
• Initiate, oversee program accreditation and recognition and provide ongoing support for a Center-wide approved Diabetes Education Accreditation Program by the American Association of Certified Educators or National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support by the American Diabetes Association.
• Participate in the Center peer review process.
• Able to successfully interact with people from diverse backgrounds and occupations.
• Travel to all clinic sites as requested.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in dietetics, nutrition, health sciences or related field required.
• Registered Dietitian with the Commission on Dietetics Registration / Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Licensed by the State of Texas.
• Must have a current BLS certificate.
• OR Bachelor's degree in Nursing.
• Licensed to practice as a registered nurse in Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from an accredited college or university.
• Must have a current BLS certificate.

Nice-to-haves

• Certified Diabetes Educator by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators.
• Minimum of three (3) years' experience in providing nutritional education and disease management teaching/counseling.
• Active affiliation with appropriate dietetic networks and organizations (e.g. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, etc.) is preferred.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred.