Renal Dietitians' Perceptions of Roles and Responsibilities in Outpatient Dialysis Facilities

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to determine what job responsibilities renal dietitians working in outpatient dialysis facilities consider as most important and most time-consuming. We hypothesized that more time-consuming activities would not always be considered most important. Design and Participants: An online survey was sent to 3,382 renal dietitians via professional organization e-mail lists. The survey included 30 activities that renal dietitians perform, grouped into 3 categories (general responsibilities, assessments, and interventions) and based on the National Kidney Foundation-Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative nutrition guidelines. For each category of activities, respondents were asked to rank the 10 activities from 1 (most important or time-consuming) to 10 (least important or time-consuming). For analysis, the rankings were combined into 3 groups: 1 to 3 = most; 4 to 6 = mid; and 7 to 10 = least important or time-consuming. Demographic and professional questions were also included. Results: Four hundred sixty six renal dietitians responded, and represented a broad range of experience in renal dietetics and type of dialysis facility. The mean number of patients per 40 hours full-time equivalent dietitian was 115.5 ± 38.4. There was good agreement between the respondents' ranking of importance and time consumed. Those activities identified as most important were traditional dietitian roles such as diet assessment and nutrition education. Many respondents provided write-in response of other activities they considered important and time-consuming such as communicating with family members or caregivers, enrolling and managing patients in the in-house pharmacy program, and serving as a care coordinator. Conclusions: It appears that the renal dietitian's role of providing nutrition assessments and counseling in outpatient dialysis facilities is being expanded to include administrative and coordination responsibilities. The impact of these changes on patient outcomes is unclear; however, previous research has indicated that administrative responsibilities take away from patient care time and decrease dietitian job satisfaction.