Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.)
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7407(a)
• English Language Proficiency
• Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Registration
• 3 (1) All applicants must hold the RDN credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) the credentialing agency of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Note: Applicants who hold the RDN credential have met the education requirement (e.g
• bachelor's degree or higher) of CDR, as such this occupation is considered professional and scientific with a positive education requirement and the procedures in Part I, Chapter 4 of this Handbook will be followed when applying Veteran's preference
• Exception for Dietitians who do not possess the RDN credential
• Non-credentialed Dietitians who meet the basic qualification requirements and have fulfilled the requirements below, but do not possess the RDN credential, may be given a temporary full-time appointment not to exceed one year under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)
• i Non-credentialed Dietitians must have fulfilled each of the following: Earned a bachelor's or higher degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college, university or foreign equivalent (refer to ii below)
• Completed an ACEND accredited experiential or supervised practice program and provide a verification statement from the program director that conveys eligibility to take the CDR registration exam as a prospective RDN
• A list of ACEND accredited programs is located on the ACEND website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable, college and/or university degrees earned outside the U.S and its territories must be evaluated by ACEND and meet ACEND's International Dietitian Education standards which are designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and competencies to sit for the CDR credentialing exam
• Non-credentialed Dietitians may only be appointed at the GS-07 or GS-09 grade level and may not be promoted/converted until they obtain their RDN credential
• Non-credentialed Dietitians must provide care under the supervision of a RDN at or above the full performance level
• Temporary appointments of non-credentialed Dietitian will not be extended beyond one year or converted to a new temporary appointment
• 4 Failure to Obtain Registration
• In all cases, Dietitians must actively pursue meeting registration requirements starting from their appointment date
• At the time of appointment, servicing Human Resources (HR) staff in collaboration with the supervisor, will provide non-registered Dietitians the written requirement to obtain registration, the date by which they must acquire it and the consequences for not doing so by the deadline
• Failure to obtain registration within one year from the date of appointment will result in removal from the Dietitian, GS-0630 occupation and may result in termination of employment
• 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 registration/certification, where applicable
• Employees appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, either on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• The following provisions apply to employees who do not meet all the qualification requirements: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in a supervisory or managerial position
• Employees must meet the assignment-specific certification/education requirements to be placed in Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice) or Dietitian (Dietetic Internship Director) assignments
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or registration/certification that meet all the qualification standard's basic or assignment-specific requirements must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation/assignment
• 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 in the occupation Grade Determinations:
• All individuals assigned to this occupation must meet all the basic qualification requirements in paragraph 3 a-f and all the requirements defined in the specific assignment
• Supervisory Dietitian (Clinical Nutrition), GS-13
• Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Skill in written communication including policy development and standard operating procedures
• (b) Skill in strategic planning to develop goals, objectives and action plans
• (c) Skill in analyzing data to monitor progress towards improving and sustaining outcomes
• (d) Ability to negotiate
• (e) Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance)
• Assignment
• For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time
• The incumbent must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision over Dietitians at the GS-12 level or below
• Supervisory Dietitians in this Clinical Nutrition assignment report to the NFS Chief
• They make decisions based on intricate and unrelated information and assumptions from inconclusive or variable data in all aspects of nutrition operations
• They provide clinical nutrition section-specific leadership and exercise a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities in planning, directing and assessing the work of subordinate staff
• Supervisory Dietitians establish a training plan for the clinical section
• They develop and lead clinical nutrition operations, establish strategic goals and ensure priorities align with the strategic plan of the NFS department, VISN and national programs
• Supervisory Dietitians identify and prioritize problems, set long and short-term goals, develop action plans and analyze data to evaluate progress to improve outcomes
• They are responsible for developing and updating policies and procedures and establishing and overseeing a system for regulatory compliance
• Supervisory Dietitians solicit support and/or negotiate with facility managers to influence decision-making and garner support to ensure clinical nutrition operations succeed
• Preferred Experience: Previous work experience in healthcare facility clinical nutrition operations, ability to oversee clinical nutrition operations using evidence-based guidelines
• experience leading groups and team
• Knowledge and skill in analyzing advanced level clinical nutrition concepts
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.