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This position has closed. Northwestern Medicine removed this listing from their careers page on Oct 5, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Clinical Dietitian-Inpatient Casual Days

Northwestern Medicine · Lake Forest, IL · Part time · Health Care Provider

Posted Sep 23, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 5, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you counseled a patient who did not want to change how they eat.

What they are checking: Whether they can motivate patients with respect for their culture and goals instead of lecturing.

Tell me about a nutrition plan that did not work as expected. What did you change?

What they are checking: Whether they monitor outcomes and adjust instead of setting a plan and moving on.

What would you do

This is a casual role covering leave and PTO. How do you get up to speed on a unit's patients when you come in for a single day?

What they are checking: Whether they can pick up mid-stream care quickly and safely with little hand-holding.

A physician disagrees with your feeding recommendation. How do you handle it?

What they are checking: Whether they can defend their reasoning with evidence while staying collaborative with the team.

How do you adjust your nutrition plan for a patient whose cultural or religious practices affect what they eat?

What they are checking: Whether they plan for socio-cultural needs, which the posting specifically names.

How do you prioritize your patient list when you have more high-risk patients than time?

What they are checking: Whether they triage by nutrition risk and acuity rather than by order of referral.

How do you identify patients who need nutrition counseling but were not referred?

What they are checking: Whether they work with the interdisciplinary team to catch at-risk patients early.

About the work

Walk me through a full nutrition assessment for a newly admitted patient, from what you look at to the plan you write.

What they are checking: Whether they use medical history, anthropometrics, labs and diet history together, as the posting lists.

How do you decide between oral supplements, enteral feeding and parenteral nutrition for a patient?

What they are checking: Whether they can choose the right feeding route and justify it to the care team.

How do you calculate calorie and protein needs for a critically ill patient, and what changes your numbers?

What they are checking: Whether they can make sound estimates and adjust for illness, weight and kidney or liver function.

What lab values do you watch most closely, and what would make you change a plan right away?

What they are checking: Whether they connect labs like electrolytes, glucose and albumin to real nutrition decisions.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Northwestern Medicine.

**This is a casual (non-benefited position) located at Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital. This role is to help support staffing in the department with employee leave and PTO coverage. ** The Clinical Dietitian reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. The Clinical Dietitian, in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, provides nutritional counseling in order to restore or maintain an optimal nutrition status for the patient. This position communicates and collaborates effectively with the health care team to exchange and disseminate information regarding care of the patient and program development. Responsibilities: Collaborates with interdisciplinary team to identify and connect with patients in need of nutrition counseling. Provide nutritional assessments utilizing medical information, anthropometric data, laboratory values and diet history to develop nutrition care plans to meet the medical, developmental, and socio-cultural needs and goals of the patient. Identify appropriate nutritional interventions, providing recommendations regarding calorie/protein/vitamin/mineral supplementation, nutrition support, appropriate feeding route, and educational needs. Provides nutrition/lifestyle education and counseling for individuals and groups. Discusses/interprets appropriate use of pharmacotherapy, makes recommendations as appropriate (supplements, commercial products). Develops, presents, and modifies educational materials. Evaluate effectiveness of intervention utilizing anthropometrics, changes in medical condition, and tolerance to therapy and adjust accordingly. Communicates effectively and collaborates with interdisciplinary care team to ensure best patient care and appropriate discharge planning Participates in in-service training for staff, students, and physicians. Educates target groups about the role of nutrition in disease management and lifestyle medicine. Attends medical round in area of practice Provides written documentation of all patient assessment and reassessments in the medical record Participate on department teams and precept dietetic interns as assigned. Collects and documents research data to support quality management outcomes. May perform other duties as assigned. Required: • Registered Dietitian – Credentialed by CDR in the state of Illinois • Bachelors of Science degree in dietetics • Masters degree in Nutrition or related field if graduated after 2023 per CDR requirements • Not required if graduated prior to 2023 Preferred: • BLS certification via AHA Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status. Background Check Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check. Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. Benefits We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Click on or copy and paste URL to your browser to view detailed benefits information NorthwesternMedicine Career Page https://jobs.nm.org/benefits Please refer to the Benefits Eligibility by Employment Classification to determine benefits eligibility for job postings. If sign-on bonus is included in a job posting eligibility is as followed: Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign-on bonus. Exception : New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position as a Registered Nurse at NM may be eligible.

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