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Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Clinical Dietitian - Adult Inpatient

DietitianIncludes weekendsFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Weekend work is also flagged as required; confirm which days and how often.

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke Regional Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. With 388 beds it is the second largest of Duke Health's four hospitals and offers a comprehensive range of medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, including orthopedics, weight-loss surgery, women's services, and heart and vascular services.

  • Clinical Dietitian - Adult Inpatient
  • Location: Duke Regional Hospital
  • 3643 North Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27704

Work Schedule

Full-Time, Monday - Friday with rotating weekends, 8:00AM - 5:00PM

  • ## This position is eligible for a $15,000 commitment bonus and $8,000 in relocation assistance
  • Duke University Health System seeks to hire a dedicated Clinical Dietitian who will embrace our mission of Advancing Health Together. Duke Regional Hospital delivers patient-centered care across a variety of adult inpatient services, including intensive care and cardiac care, bariatric surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, general medicine, oncology, and behavioral health. Clinical dietitians at Duke Health provide specialized medical nutrition therapy to support patients with diverse medical conditions, promoting optimal nutritional status and positive patient outcomes throughout their hospital stay. This position will primarily care for adult patient populations, with most dietitians covering two floors as part of a collaborative team of eight dietitians.

What You Will Do

Coordinate all phases of nutrition care including nutrition assessment, care planning, monitoring, education and counseling of hospitalized patients and outpatients in a variety of settings.

Perform duties in support of and in compliance with performance improvement plans, JCAHO, and other licensing, accrediting, and regulatory agencies.

**DUHS offers career growth and enrichment within our Nutrition services. There is a clinical ladder program with various steps and opportunities at each hospital within the health system.

Duties and Responsibilities of Each Level

Level I

Provide nutrition services and medical nutrition therapy integrated with the patient's medical goals.

Evaluate, interpret, monitor, and document the nutritional status and nutritional needs of inpatients and outpatients using established standards of care and practice guidelines.

Identify and provide age-specific nutrition counseling to meet the cultural needs of the patients and their families.

  • Develop, review, update and implement educational materials to meet the needs of patients and professionals.
  • Write orders for diet, supplement, enteral/parenteral nutrition and laboratory data per hospital policy.
  • Function as an integral member of the clinical interdisciplinary team.
  • Maintain Registered Dietitian (RD) status including continuing professional education per the Professional Development Portfolio.
  • Maintain North Carolina Board of Nutrition and Dietetics licensure.
  • Precept dietetic interns and provide on the job training for newly hired clinical staff.
  • Supervise daily work of dietetic technicians (registered - provide input into evaluation but not directly evaluate their performance).
  • Comply with Nutrition Services meeting and attendance standards.

Level II

In addition to Level I, Dietitian works in an assigned specialty area and integrates research and education into practice as evidence by competencies.

Is a liaison and advocate for the profession by utilizing and sharing new practice knowledge and skill into other areas of the profession (management, public health) and or other disciplines.

Level III

Thinks critically, displays a range of highly developed clinical and technical skills, and formulates judgements acquired through a combination of education, experience and critical thinking.

Based on department's need, have the ability to provide expertise, oversight and leadership in a designated specialty area. These areas include: Student Advisor, Malnutrition Specialist, Adult Nutrition Support Specialist, Pediatric Nutrition Support Specialist, Program Coordinator, Clinical and Quality Specialist, IT Specialist, Outpatient Clinical Coordinator, Lead, Subject Matter Expert.

Required Qualifications

Education

Level I, II, III

Baccalaureate degree in Food and Nutrition, Dietetics, Nutritional Sciences, Human Nutrition, or comparable major.

Successful completion of coordinated program or dietetic internship of not less than 900 hours under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian.

Experience

Level I

One year in an acute care environment preferred; experience may be waived for specific positions.

Level II and Level III

At least 5 years of clinical experience or at least 3 years' clinical experience plus an approved, nutrition related certification.

Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification

Level I, II, and III

Registered dietitian (RD) by the Commission on Dietetic Registration; candidates eligible for registration may be hired with the expectation that registration will be achieved within 90 days of hire.

Licensed dietitian/nutritionist (LDN) by the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition; provision for license-eligible dietitians as above.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes.

To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions:

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinate all phases of nutrition care including assessment, care planning, and patient education for adult inpatient services. Function as an integral member of the clinical interdisciplinary team while ensuring compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards.

Requirements

Requires a baccalaureate degree in Food and Nutrition or a related field and completion of a dietetic internship. Must hold or be eligible for Registered Dietitian (RD) and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN) credentials.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Patient counselingClinical documentationInterdisciplinary team collaborationBariatric nutritionCritical care nutritionOncology nutritionEnteral nutritionPreceptingRegulatory complianceJCAHO standards

Dietitian Career Context

Of the 50 active Clinical Nutrition listings this role was benchmarked against, 44% are remote, 34% have no call, 74% require no weekends.

In North Carolina, the Clinical Nutrition weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$71k (67 salary observations; 324 listings), vs ~$78k nationally (2,411 salary observations; 8,257 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for North Carolina is 94.3 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 59.2% of North Carolina clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Clinical Dietitian - Adult Inpatient at Duke University a 6.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 35% of all Clinical Nutrition dietitian listings evaluated on our platform.

Top Dietitian Jobs

36 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution29 jobs

8
<$85k
13
$85k-100k
5
$100k-115k
3
$115k-130k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks23 jobs

401k / retirement match
74%
CME allowance
48% this job
Sign-on bonus
35% this job
Relocation assistance
9% this job
PSLF eligible
4%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Regional Dietitian Wellbeing Director- Allergen Management

Compass Group · Costa Mesa, California

$110k-$120k
#2

Registered Dietitian ContractorContract

Foodsmart · Remote - Nationwide

$48-$57.2/hr
#3

Registered Dietitian (Partner) - Oregon License

$48-$57.2/hr
#4

Dietitian - Community Health

$35.06-$54.43/hr
+ 34 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 6.0
Better work-life than 50% of Clinical Nutrition (Dietitian) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 3,193 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes weekends

Living in Durham

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$363k
Typical market rent
$1,659/mo
Residents’ average commute
22 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
97.6
State income tax
Up to 4.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.