Specialist Oncology DietitianNHS

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for 12-month secondment or fixed term position as 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 chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy (including proton beam therapy). You will have the chance to work with both outpatients and inpatients, rotating through head and neck and acute oncology 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.

The successful candidate will require recent acute experience in oncology, advanced nutritional support skills (including enteral and ideally parenteral feeding) along with excellent organisation and advanced communication skills.

If you are you passionate about working in oncology and want to extend your knowledge and skills in a wide range of cancer types and treatments and have recent experience in advanced nutritional support, then this will be the post for you.

Main duties of the job

As a specialist oncology dietitian, you will:

• Clinically be 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 learner dietitians

Job description

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, AHPs, catering and other health care professionals on steps required implementing patients 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, AHPs, 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.

About us

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.

We are a supportive and dynamic department of 30 dietitians and 3 nutrition support specialist nurses who work closely together, guided by the Trust's Core Values and behaviours.

Our vision is to be leading in oncology nutrition and dietetics, placing patients at the heart of everything we do through innovation, education, and research. We strive to be the best department to work in by valuing and respecting each team member, fostering a culture of collaboration, and supporting the development of both current and future staff through experience, education, opportunities, and a positive learning environment.

We provide nutrition services across inpatient and outpatient areas and actively contribute to research and audit. Professional development is strongly encouraged, with opportunities including regular CPD sessions, in-house courses, and training programmes covering leadership, disease-specific care, advanced communication skills, and more, supported by The Christie Institute for Cancer Education. The Trust is also developing structured career pathways for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs).