Clinical Dietitian – Roles & Responsibilities1. Clinical Nutrition Assessment

- Conduct comprehensive nutritional assessment of inpatients and outpatients.
- Review medical history, diagnosis, medications and relevant laboratory reports.
- Assess height, weight, BMI and nutritional risk.
- Identify malnutrition, nutritional deficiencies and nutrition-related complications.
- Calculate individual calorie, protein, fluid and micronutrient requirements.
- Assess food allergies, intolerances and dietary restrictions.
- Prioritize patients requiring urgent nutritional intervention.

1. Therapeutic Diet Planning

- Prepare individualized diet plans according to the patient's medical condition and physician's advice.
- Plan diets for diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, renal disease, liver disease, obesity and gastrointestinal disorders.
- Prepare post-operative and recovery diets.
- Plan clear-liquid, full-liquid, soft, semi-solid and regular diets as clinically indicated.
- Modify diets based on patient progress and clinical requirements.
- Ensure prescribed diets are nutritionally adequate and practical.

1. Inpatient Patient Care

- Conduct regular ward rounds for assigned patients.
- Review new admissions requiring nutritional intervention.
- Monitor food intake and dietary tolerance.
- Follow up patients with poor appetite, weight loss or inadequate nutritional intake.
- Monitor nutritional progress and update diet plans.
- Coordinate with doctors and nursing staff regarding dietary requirements.
- Document nutritional assessments and interventions accurately.

1. ICU & Critical Care Nutrition

- Assess nutritional requirements of critically ill patients.
- Assist in planning enteral nutrition and nutritional supplementation.
- Monitor feeding tolerance and nutritional intake.
- Coordinate with the ICU medical and nursing team.
- Identify feeding-related complications and report them promptly.
- Participate in multidisciplinary clinical discussions when required.

1. Patient & Attendant Counselling

- Provide individual dietary counselling to patients and attendants.
- Explain permitted and restricted foods.
- Educate patients about portion control and healthy eating.
- Provide diabetic and weight-management counselling.
- Explain nutritional supplements and their appropriate use.




- Provide dietary instructions at discharge.
- Ensure patients and caregivers understand the recommended diet.

1. Diet Kitchen Coordination

- Coordinate daily diet requirements with the diet kitchen.
- Verify prescribed diets before meal preparation and distribution.
- Ensure special diets are correctly prepared.
- Monitor portion sizes and diet specifications.
- Coordinate changes in diet orders with kitchen and nursing staff.
- Monitor patient meal delivery and report discrepancies.
- Minimize food wastage.

1. Menu Planning

- Prepare and review hospital menus.
- Ensure menus meet nutritional requirements.
- Develop therapeutic diet menus.
- Consider patient preferences and regional food habits.
- Calculate approximate calorie and nutrient values.
- Review menus periodically and recommend improvements.

1. Food Safety & Hygiene

- Monitor food hygiene and safe food-handling practices.
- Ensure prevention of cross-contamination.
- Monitor food storage and handling practices.
- Support appropriate temperature control and food safety procedures.
- Report suspected food contamination immediately.
- Participate in kitchen hygiene inspections and audits.

1. Documentation

- Maintain nutritional assessment records.
- Document diet plans and modifications.
- Maintain counselling records.
- Record nutritional monitoring and follow-up.
- Maintain discharge dietary instructions.
- Ensure documentation is accurate, complete and timely.

1. Coordination with Other Departments

- Coordinate with consultants and medical officers.
- Coordinate with Nursing, Pharmacy, Laboratory and Physiotherapy departments.
- Work closely with ICU and clinical teams.
- Coordinate with dietary/kitchen staff.
- Participate in multidisciplinary patient-care meetings when required.

1. NABH & Quality Responsibilities

- Follow hospital SOPs, policies and clinical protocols.
- Maintain required dietary and nutritional records.
- Participate in internal and external audits.




- Support NABH compliance.
- Participate in quality-improvement activities.
- Report diet-related incidents and near misses.
- Participate in corrective and preventive actions.
- Follow patient-safety and infection-control requirements.

1. Infection Control

- Follow hand-hygiene practices.
- Use PPE where required.
- Follow infection-control precautions.
- Maintain food hygiene standards.
- Participate in infection-control training.
- Report any infection-control or food-safety concerns.

1. Inventory & Supplements

- Monitor nutritional supplement requirements.
- Coordinate with stores and purchase departments.
- Monitor availability of specialized nutritional products.
- Prevent unnecessary wastage and expiry of dietary supplies.
- Maintain appropriate stock records where assigned.

1. Training & Education

- Conduct nutrition-related education for patients and staff.
- Participate in staff training programmes.
- Educate dietary staff regarding therapeutic diets.
- Provide training on food safety and hygiene.
- Participate in continuing professional development.

1. Daily Administrative Responsibilities

- Attend duty punctually as per roster.
- Review daily diet orders.
- Complete ward rounds and patient counselling.
- Coordinate with the diet kitchen.
- Update patient records.
- Attend departmental meetings.
- Escalate clinical or operational concerns to the reporting authority.

1. Professional Responsibilities

- Maintain patient confidentiality.
- Follow hospital rules and regulations.
- Maintain professional behaviour and communication.
- Respect patients, attendants and colleagues.
- Maintain proper grooming and professional appearance.
- Work within professional scope and hospital protocols.
- Immediately report significant patient nutrition concerns to the appropriate medical authority.

1. Key Accountability

The Clinical Dietitian is primarily accountable for protected, accurate and patient-specific nutritional care, including nutritional assessment, therapeutic diet planning, counselling, monitoring, documentation, diet-kitchen coordination, food safety and compliance with hospital quality standards. Pay: ₹15,000.00 - ₹25,000.00 per month

Benefits

- Paid sick time
- Provident Fund

Work Location: In person

📌 Dietician (Chengalpattu)
🏢 Tambaram Medical Center
📍 Chengalpattu