How to Start and Advance a Career in Nutrition Informatics

This product is free for NI DPG members.

This webinar was presented live on October 8, 2020.

This webinar will include three panelists that will cover how to break into the field of informatics and how to advance within the field. The panelists represent a variety of backgrounds and will be able to share perspectives for those just starting their careers as well s those with established careers in the field of nutrition informatics. They will discuss the skills that are necessary to work in informatics and share tactics to advance your career in the field. This session will include a Q & A session to cover any questions attendees may have about careers in nutrition informatics.

CPEU: 1.0
CPE Level: 2
Learning Need Codes: 1010, 1130, 1140
Performance Indicators: 3.1.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.4

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the role of standardized terminology in gaining a career in informatics
2. Understand skills and tactics that facilitate breaking into and advancing a career in informatics
3. Construct a plan for a job transition in nutrition informatics

Speakers

Carolyn A. Silzle, MBA, MS, RD, LD, FAND

Carolyn Silzle has been a registered dietitian for over 40 years. She held a variety of positions in adult hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. However, Carolyn found her passion working for a pediatric hospital. After twelve years working in clinical, she discovered a new opportunity to help create the electronic medical record for our system. Carolyn had experience with computers, using Word to write her clinical notes and Excel to assist with calculating ketogenic and metabolic diets. Although they were focused on getting nurses, she was hired and became orders certified with Epic. She retired from fulltime work from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta after 26 years last year, but continues to work prn directly for lab, building their orders for Epic.

While she switched career paths, she has continued to stay involved with the Academy, DPGs, and other workgroups including HL7 Care plans. Currently, she is a trustee of the Georgia Dietetic Foundation and Chair of Awards for the Nutrition Informatics DPG.

William I. Swan, FAND

A retiree after more than 20 years as Supervisor of Dietitians at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. Clinical responsibilities at AAMC included adult and neonatal critical care. Currently, Bill enjoys the arts and outdoor activities around Taos, New Mexico. He serves on the Board of The Guilds of the Santa Fe Opera, Inc.

Academy activities have included the Chair of Evidenced Based Practice, Chair Nutrition Care Process Research Outcomes Committee, participation in the Dietetics Practice Based Research Network, co-authoring Diabetes Mellitus Toolkit, serving on the IDNT/SL Advisory Panels for the 4th and e NCPT editions, and contributing as a content expert for the Nutrition Orders Domain Analysis Model and clinical documentation standards for HL7. Bill was recognized as an Outstanding Preceptor Region 6 in 2012 and became a Fellow of the Academy in 2014. Publications have touched on ethical selection of infant and enteral feeding formulas, integrating Nutrition Care Process and Evidence Analysis Library Guidelines into expected care chains, and recent updates of the Nutrition Care Process and Nutrition Care Process Terminology. Current work with the Academy includes contributing to the migration of NCP Terminology to SNOMED-CT, The Gravity Project with HL7, and representing the Academy on Trinity Health's FNS Nutrition Advisory Council.

Sarah Taylor, MBA, RD, LD

Sarah Taylor is an experienced Registered Dietitian in the field of Healthcare Nutrition Informatics. She started her career as a clinical dietitian and quickly found her passion in project management and process improvement. Throughout her career as a clinical dietitian, Sarah spearheaded multiple IT-related projects to include revolutionizing clinical nutrition documentation processes and standardizing documentation of malnutrition through a physician-led taskforce. Sarah's passion for information systems and projects led her to pursue an MBA, which she completed in 2018. Many of Sarah's accomplishments in the field are targeted around cost savings, waste management, and labor management through workflow efficiencies. A few of these accomplishments include transitioning a $3M storeroom inventory from manual inventory practices to an online inventory management system; implementing payroll deduct for the entire Network; and launching an online ordering platform for floor stocks across the Network.

Sarah takes pride in empowering the Nutritional Services department to make data-driven decisions by harnessing the power of information systems, which was previously impossible due to tedious, manual processes in place. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys teaching and practicing yoga, spending time with her husband and family, and is a proud mother to two fur babies, Gracie and Nova.