What is Clinical Nutrition?

Clinical nutrition at STEGH is provided by Registered Dietitians (RD) who have specialized training in diet and nutrition. In a hospital setting, clinical RDs provide medical nutrition therapy for a variety of inpatient and outpatient medical conditions. RDs might screen patients for nutritional risk, provide nutritional assessments and develop nutrition care plans. They assess for nutrition therapy provided orally, through enteral feeding tubes and via IV. They also provide nutrition education for patients and families.

What do Registered Dietitians do?
RDs work in a variety of treatment settings. Within the hospital setting, the RD will:

• Facilitate patient nutrition care plans: screen, evaluate, implement and adjust nutrition interventions
• Provide specialized nutrition interventions including enteral (tube feeding) and parenteral (intravenous) nutrition
• Work in collaboration with the multidisciplinary health team to provide patient centered care
• Work closely with the food service department to optimize nutrition for our patients
• Engage in continuous learning to maintain evidence based practice
• Act as preceptors to dietetic interns

What can a dietitian do for me?
Registered Dietitians are food and nutrition experts. There are many different ways that an RD can help support you in your health and nutrition goals. Some examples include:

• Promoting healthy eating for health promotion and disease prevention
• Nutrition for chronic disease management (diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, cancer care, gastrointestinal disorders, and more
• Managing food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities
• Identifying malnutrition/risk of malnutrition
• Role of nutrition in wound healing

Why is nutrition important for patients?
Proper nutrition is necessary to heal wounds, control chronic illnesses,and build or maintain strength. Good nutrition is an integral component of patient care. Not only does proper nutrition provide substantial physical benefits, it also provides psychological comfort. Food is more than just nutrition!