Lactation Consultant

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

Education

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited school of Nursing

Experience

• Three years clinical experience in lactation support, mother/baby and/or patient educational activities/programs

Licenses and Certifications

Required

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure - Texas Board of  Compact Licensure – Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) and
• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association and
• NRP - Neonatal Resuscitation or Instructor (AHA,AAP) - American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics and
• Magnet ANCC-recognized certification in Women Services specialty: CLC, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, IBCLC, RNC-NIC, CCNR(N), or NPS

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Ability to build evidence-based practice into the clinical setting
• Demonstrates ability to plan, organize, and follow through on assignments and/or projects
• Exhibits leadership abilities including collaborative, consultative and coaching skills

People Essential Functions

• Utilizes strong knowledge base in lactation support or women’s health to educate the patient in various settings, grief support as needed and the overall childbearing family’s educational needs. Maintains an open line of communication with Nurse Director, Clinical Manager and Charge Nurses regarding actual or potential issues related to patient education/lactation.
• Provides consultative support to the staff and physicians and serves as a problem solver. Provides clinical resource expertise to clinicians and providers. Collaborates to foster healthy relationships in the work environment such as mitigation of conflict.
• Improves nurse satisfaction by serving as a role model and mentor, as evidenced by the annual RN-RN teamwork score and interprofessional relationship score.

Service Essential Functions

• Assesses patient’s educational and/or lactation support needs and provides clinical support and resources to maternal patients across the entity and in the community.
• Assesses for staff educational needs, then plans, develops, and implements programs related to patient educational needs to include lactation. Acts as a model and coaches staff in effective verbal, non-verbal and written communication, which includes active listening and teaching.
• Facilitates the planning, development and implementation of prenatal and/or breastfeeding education classes, at the direction of leadership.

Quality/Safety Essential Functions

• Role models highly developed assessment, clinical documentation, leadership and analytical skills; integrates and contributes to professional practice standards, policies, procedures, protocols and leads improvements in patient safety-related processes. Contributes to development of service line and hospital standards and guidelines.
• Leads and supports ongoing initiatives to improve quality and safety scores on the unit and hospital scorecards, through peer-to-peer accountability, reporting near misses and identifying solutions by collaborating with the interprofessional team. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.
• Follows the standards related to regulatory requirements and professional practice as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document. Participates in the maternal and/or neonatal QAPI meetings, collecting and analyzing data as appropriate.

Finance Essential Functions

• Models independent time management effectively and prioritization of daily tasks. Actively participates in the stewardship and efficient…