Summary The Clinical Dietetic Technician position, is in Nutrition and Food Services at the Loma Linda VA Health Care System. The Clinical Dietetic Technician, works as a member of the clinical nutrition team providing technical and administrative assistance to the Registered Dietitian staff in the goal of patient and resident nutritional care at the medical center. Responsibilities Conducts the screening and evaluation of the nutrition care needs of patients enrolled in the MOVE! Weight management Program or Healthy Teaching Kitchen Program (HTK) Assists the RDN in the development of nutritional care plans including nutrition interventions, and diet counseling in collaboration with the RDN. Collects nutritionally relevant data from the medical record for medications, clinical symptoms, laboratory values, diet history and anthropometrics. Makes recommendations for adjustments to the plan of care to improve patient's recovery and document outcomes on nutrition intervention Educates patients or employees, in groups or individually, and/or those accompanying the patient, regarding medical nutrition therapies. Serves as a preceptor for dietetic technician affiliated programs and associated tasks as applicable. Assists with administrative or clerical functions associated with MOVE! and HTK programs. Assists in related duties that support performance improvement activities for the service. Works collaboratively with interdisciplinary team members Completes patient satisfaction surveys May perform other duties as assigned as appropriate for the grade and assignment and which are within the scope of the occupation. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 99306-FS Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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. 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). Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and licensure/ /registration/certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements. Grade Determinations: Clinical Dietetic Technician, GS-7 Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs Knowledge in Medical Nutrition Therapy pertaining to completing nutrition assessments. Knowledge of food service operations. Skills in conducting nutrition intervention, patient interviewing, and nutrition counseling as part of the nutrition care process. Ability to organize, evaluate, and execute teaching plans to provide nutrition education for selected groups of patients and individuals. Ability to effectively communicate nutrition education and care plans with patients, family members, coworkers, internal customers, and external customers. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. Some lifting of trays, bending down, sitting, and standing for substantial periods of time. Education ACEND accredited programs are located on the ACEND website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at the least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. 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). Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
