Kylie Russell

Kylie has worked as a Clinical Dietitian at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) for 14 years and in private practice since 2019. Over this time, she has worked across a wide variety of areas in medical and surgical specialties.

Kylie is now an Advanced Clinician, specialised in nutrition support for hepaticopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery and upper gastrointestinal (UGI) surgery. These include surgeries such as oesophagectomy, pancreaticoduodenectomy, hepatectomy, bariatric (weight loss) surgery and total/subtotal gastrectomy. She also has experience working with patients who have undergone colorectal surgery and managing high output stomas. She has completed the Advanced Clinical Nutrition Course (AuSPEN) and the St Marks Intestinal Failure Course (2019).

Working in liver disease with the New Zealand Liver Transplant Unit (NZLTU), Kylie has gained a wealth of knowledge regarding nutritional support for patients undergoing transplant, as well as individuals with chronic liver diseases including Wilsons disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hepatitis. She has published peer-reviewed, academic papers in these areas.

Kylie is experienced in nutrition support for gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) in both the acute (inpatient) and chronic (outpatient) setting.

Nutrition for pancreatic disease is an area Kylie is particularly interested in, including acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic enzyme insufficiency (PEI) and pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT).

Kylie has a strong interest in research and since graduation has completed a Masters with first class honours through the Department of Surgery at Auckland City Hospital and The University of Auckland (2014).

Kylie lectures at both The University of Auckland and Massey University and is an Honorary Lecturer at the Surgical and Translational Research (STaR) Centre. She also provides professional supervision for dietitians, and supervises dietetic students in training.

Kylie is an active member of Dietitians New Zealand and past Vice-President of the Auckland Branch.
‍

Dietitian – The term dietitian is a protected term. A Dietitian is a registered health professional who meets standards required by the Dietitians Board and has both an undergraduate science degree in human nutrition and a post-graduate qualification in dietetics. To practise in New Zealand, a Dietitian must, by law, be registered with the Dietitians Board and hold a current practising certificate. The Dietitians Board protects the health and safety of the New Zealand public under the Health Practitioners Competency Act (HPCA) 2003, by ensuring that every Dietitian working in New Zealand is fit to practice and meets standards of professionalism. In New Zealand, Dietitians are the only nutrition health profession that is regulated by law. The Dietitians Board regulates the dietetic profession and only those on the Register can call themselves a Dietitian and practise as a Dietitian.

‍Nutritionist – The term Nutritionist is not a protected term, there is no specific qualification or statutory legislation that regulates that profession and therefore the title can be used freely by anyone. This could range from someone with a PHD in a specialty area of nutrition to someone with no formal training. Nutritionists can be an associate member of Dietitians NZ if they hold a scientific qualification in human nutrition approved by Dietitians NZ or occupy a prominent position in work or research relating to nutrition or dietetics.

Source: dietitians.org.nz