Qualifications

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
• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD) - Must be registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) the credentialing branch of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics formerly known as the American Dietetic Association (ADA)
• Current VHA Dietitians that qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision may not be promoted to a higher grade if they do not meet the current RDN/RD requirements
• Grade Determinations: Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice), GS-12
• (1) Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• (2) Certification
• Must hold an advanced practice certification from a nationally recognized certifying body such as the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists or the National Board of Nutrition Certification
• The certification must be directly related to the assignment being filled
• For example, where the assignment requires diabetes management, a Board Certified-Advanced Diabetes Management or Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists certification is qualifying
• Commonly held certifications include Board Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition
• Board Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition
• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist-Advanced Practitioner
• Certified Nutrition Support Clinician
• (3) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• In addition to the experience and certification above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Skill in leading a team in the implementation of nutrition-related activities
• (b) Skill in utilizing evidence- based practice guidelines to establish or modify goals and improve patient outcomes
• (c) Ability to communicate in writing to develop policies and standard operating procedures
• (d) Ability to serve as a nutrition expert, providing technical guidance, direction and staff development
• (e) Ability to lead research or performance improvement studies
• (f) Ability to present complex nutrition information to a large group of health care providers to persuade and influence provision of care
• (4) Assignment
• For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Employees in this assignment serve as an Advanced-Level Dietitian
• They conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using the NCP assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice
• Advanced-Level Dietitians lead a multi-disciplinary team developing nutrition-related services, policies, procedures and/or protocols
• They provide consultative services regarding advanced therapies and research in providing quality nutritional care
• Advanced-Level Dietitians develop, monitor and direct practice-specific benchmarks based on standards of care or national initiatives
• They utilize knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to plan, implement and evaluate organizational initiatives
• Advanced-Level Dietitians lead the implementation of new nutrition initiatives or a change in practice to achieve strategic goals
• They establish goals, measure outcomes and report progress toward meeting goals to medical center committees, health care teams and/or professional groups
• Advanced-Level Dietitians lead staff, create and validate competencies and develop training activities
• They lead nutrition research studies or performance improvement and communicate findings through reports, abstracts, presentations and/or peer-reviewed professional publications
• Advanced-Level Dietitians present at seminars, workshops and lectures to convey current nutrition information on new and changing concepts
• This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation
• Preferred Experience: Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.