Clinical Dietetic Technician

This position serves as a Clinical Dietetic Technician in the Nutrition and Food Services section of the VA Medical Center in Atlanta and, as an Interdisciplinary Care Team member, is responsible for providing a high-level of technical assistance and support to the Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in providing all steps of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Care Process.

Qualifications:

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

United States Citizenship:

Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience and/or

Education:

Education. Completion of an associate's or higher degree program in Dietetic Technology, Dietetics or another related field of study that is accredited by

ACEND. OR

Experience. Completion of one (1) year of clinical experience in dietetics, and the possession of an active Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) certification. The experience must have been received after possession of the CDM certification OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.

Licensure/Certification/Registration:

List of Licensure/Certification/Registration. Possession of the DTR credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is required for the Advanced CDT (Clinical), GS-08 assignment Exception for Non-registered CDT (a) Non- registered applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for licensure, may be given a temporary appointment as a CDT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2). (b) Non-registered individuals shall only provide care under the supervision of a credentialed CDT at or above the full performance level. (c) Non-registered individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained. (d) Temporary appointments of non-registered CDTs may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment. Failure to Obtain Registration. In all cases, CDTs must actively pursue meeting requirements for registration starting from the date of their placement into the occupation. At the time of appointment, the Human Resources (HR) Office staff in collaboration with the supervisor will provide the employee with the written requirements for registration, including the time by which the registration, must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming registered by the deadline. Failure to obtain registration during this time period may result in termination of employment. Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required registration of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation, which may also result in separation from employment. HR Office staff must appoint CDTs according to the provisions in Chapter 3, Section B, paragraph 16 of this part, who have, or have ever had, their CDT registration revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. English Language Proficiency. CDT candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations :

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met. Clinical Dietetic Technician, GS-07 (1) Experience. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade. (2) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) . In addition to meeting the experience or certification requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following

KSAs:

(a) Knowledge in Medical Nutrition Therapy pertaining to completing nutrition assessments. (b) Knowledge of food service operations. (c) Skill in conducting nutrition intervention, patient interviewing, and nutrition counseling as part of the nutrition care process. (d) Ability to organize, evaluate, and execute teaching plans to provide nutrition education for selected groups of patients and individuals. (e) Ability to effectively communicate nutrition education and care plans with patients, family members, coworkers, internal customers, and external customers. (3) Assignment. Employees at this grade level serve as full performance level CDTs. They are knowledgeable of a variety of complex diet orders. The CDT will conduct screening and evaluation of nutrition care needs of patients, development of nutritional care plans including nutrition interventions, and diet counseling in collaboration with the RDN. The employee makes recommendations for adjustments to improve patient's recovery and/or teaching plan, evaluates (instruction, demonstration, facilitation) and works collaboratively with the patient and family to develop strategies to meet their learning needs. The CDT educates patients or employees, in groups or individually, and/or those accompanying the patient regarding medical nutrition therapies. The employee serves as a preceptor for dietetic technician affiliated programs and associated tasks as applicable. The CDT assists with administrative or clerical functions associated with food service operations

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ . The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07.

Physical Requirements:

Requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment, or assisting patients.