Specialist Oncology Dietitian
Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for an oncology dietitian to be part of a large dietetic department, you will be supported by dietetic managers and colleagues and will contribute to the overall dietetic service including student placements, audit, training and education.
At this world-class cancer centre, you will have the opportunity to gain experience across a diverse range of cancer types and treatments, including specialist surgery, haematology, stem cell transplants, and CAR-T therapy, alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy (including proton beam therapy).You will also have the chance to work with both inpatients and outpatients, rotating through head and neck, HPB, gynaecology, and UGI outpatient services. Band 6 rotations focus on oncology related competencies, and working within dedicated team areas will support your development in these skills.
You will gain the strong foundation you need to develop as an oncology specialist. For experienced professionals, we will encourage you to progress into clinical leadership roles and take part in our leadership training programmes.
Recent applicants need not apply
Main duties of the job
As a specialist oncology dietitian, you will
Clinically responsible for the nutritional care and management of patients and independently plan organise and prioritise patient related and professional demands daily.Work as part of a rotational team and be responsible for overseeing a designated clinical area with the support of your team lead.
Provide education and training to medical staff, nursing staff and other health care professionals in the Trust.
Support the service and contribute to the department’s annual objectives.
Provide support and supervision to band 6 rotation dietitians
Take an active role in the research and audit.
Working for our organisation
The department is actively involved in student training, education, audit, research, and networking at both local and national levels.
Based in Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients each year and serving a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. As a national specialist centre, approximately 15% of patients are referred from other parts of the country.We offer radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world, chemotherapy on site and at 14 partner hospitals, highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancers, and a wide range of diagnostic and support services.
The Christie is also an international leader in research, achieving world-first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of Europe’s largest early clinical trial units, conducting over 300 trials annually. Cancer research in Manchester, primarily undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To support the band 7 dietitian in a clinical area, and be responsible for own caseload.
To rotate in areas such as lung, upper GI, head and neck, HPB, gynecology, surgery, haematology, acute admissions, and other areas of inpatients and outpatients.
To plan, organise and prioritise patient related and professional demands.
To nutritionally assess oncology patients using the interpretation and evaluation of anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and dietary data, whilst considering the patients social and ethnic circumstances, prognosis and treatment.
To convey complex specialised dietary advice and lifestyle changes to patients and carers using advanced counselling and communication skills.
To diagnose malnutrition and/or risk of Refeeding Syndrome and to liaise with the appropriate consultant with an aim of optimising treatment outcome by recommending the appropriate method of nutrition intervention.
To attend appropriate ward rounds and multidisciplinary meetings in order to provide expert advice to clinicians regarding provision of nutritional support for oncology patients and carers based on clinical evidence.
To communicate/ liaise with nursing staff, AHP’s, catering and other health care professionals on steps required implementing patient’s dietary prescription.
To prescribe the appropriate dietary regimen for clients using evidence-based practice and to manage, monitor and reevaluate the treatment plan as necessary.
To initiate, facilitate and coordinate the setting up of a home enteral feed to ensure a safe discharge.
To refer patients to primary, secondary or alternative tertiary care for monitoring and therapeutic support following transfer or discharge.
To work with the catering department to ensure suitable meal provision to meet the special needs of the oncology patient in line with national standards.
To write, deliver and evaluate internal and external education and training sessions on nutrition and specialist dietetics in relation to oncology to medical staff, nursing staff, AHP’s, dietitians, other health care professionals, patients and carers.
To act as a clinical educator by participating in the ABC model of student dietetic placements.
To take an active role in the research, development, implementation, and audit of departmental resources such as diet sheets, policies and standards and to ensure they remain in line with evidence-based practice including Standards of proficiency: Dietitians, The National Dietetic Standards, and Code of Professional Conduct.
To take an active role in the research, development, implementation and audit of evidence-based trust wide nutrition strategies and standards with medical staff, nursing staff, pharmacy and other AHP colleagues to promote safe effective practices of nutrition support.
To maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up to date documentation on individual patients in line with local and national standards and be responsible for the appropriate storage of d with the Health Care Professions Council (H.C.P.C) and trust policy on confidentiality.
To record and submit patient data and statistics as required by the manager and provide information for annual reports and service planning.
To be responsible for the ordering, delivery, and monitoring of specialist prescribable nutritional supplements for individual client needs.
To attend and participate in departmental, professional update meetings and trust nutrition related meetings leading them when required.
To be responsible for own clinical professional development (CPD) to maintain competency and to ensure best practice.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- BSc Nutrition & Dietetics or BSc degree in relevant science subject plus Post Graduate Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics.
- HCPC registration.
- BDA membership
- Teaching qualification course.
- Evidence of post-graduate specialist counselling skills course in oncology, bereavement counselling or breaking bad news.
- Advanced course in nutritional support (e.g. BDA PEN course).
- Student clinical educators course.
- Member of B.D.A oncology group
Experience
Essential criteria- Evidence of recent acute oncology and nutrition support experience including enteral feeding
- Evidence of multidisciplinary team working.
- Evidence of recent CPD.
- Evidence of audit/ research experience and ability to critique research papers
- Clinical supervisory skills
- Parenteral feeding
Skills
Essential criteria- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Good presentation skills and evidence of presentations to large groups.
- Standard keyboard skills – word processing, internet, data inputting, dietary analysis.
- Ability to work effectively single-handed with individuals and groups.
- Excellent organisational and time management skills.
- Accurate anthropometrics measurement skills.
- Ability to interpret complex information.
- Parenteral feeding
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Understanding the complex effects of cancer and treatments on nutritional status of patients.
- Conversant with enteral feeding systems.
- Sound knowledge of current issues relating to cancer and nutrition support.
- Knowledge of clinical governance
- Evidence of oncology / nutrition support courses
- Parenteral feeding
Values
Essential criteria- Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours.
Other
Essential criteria- Self motivated, reliable
- Able to recognise own limitations
- Application Information - If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.
- Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.
- Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line with NHS Employment Check Standards. These include:
- Identity verification
- Right to work check
- Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role, payment of this will be the applicants responsibility)
- Professional registration and/or qualification check
- Occupational health assessment
- Employment history and reference validation
All applicants external to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references.
If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current government guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.
✅ If You're Offered the Role - you will be agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.
- Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.
- No Smoking Policy - You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.
- Additional Information - We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.
We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all our activities. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery in any of its forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking.We are fully committed to acting ethically and with transparency in all our business dealings and relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our organisation or supply chains.