Doula- 36 hours/week- Night shift

Albany Medical Center • Albany, NY

20h • Onsite

About The Position

The Doula provides continuous emotional and physical support for a person in labor and immediate family. This support spans the duration of the labor and during the postpartum period by attending the labor to provide continuity of care. The Doula provides comfort measures to laboring patients in the form of positioning, massage, ambulation, hydration, and nutrition & facilitates rest. The Doula facilitates patients' wishes and birth plans in collaboration with the patient's Registered Nurse, Provider team, and interdisciplinary team and other Doulas. Following the infant birth, the doula facilitates parent/infant bonding through supporting skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding/chest feeding. The doula performs other duties as assigned within their scope of practice.

Requirements

• High School Diploma/G.E.D. - required
• 1-3 years working with laboring patients - required
• BCLS - Basic Life Support Upon Hire - required
• CD - Certified Labor Support Doula within 180 Days - required
• Able to communicate effectively with organizational and external customers as well as agencies.
• Demonstrates responsibility and accountability for actions.

Nice To Haves

• 1-3 years as a Doula with a deep understanding of the childbirth process and postpartum recovery - preferred
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology preferred.
• The ideal candidate will have strong understanding of various cultural practices, beliefs, and traditions related to childbirth and postpartum period.
• Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Prioritizes bedside care by providing comprehensive emotional, physical, and informational support to expectant parents throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and/or the postpartum period.
• Reports patient concerns to the RN and patient care team.
• Participates in care planning and the nursing report process.
• Incorporates patient/family rights to participate in decision making about their care.
• Utilizes standardized techniques for keeping patients and families informed.
• Assist with various labor techniques, including breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and positioning, to promote a positive birth experience.
• Assists the patient with eating and hydration, grooming, dressing, and toileting.
• Incorporates safe patient handling into basic restorative care such as ambulation, range of motion, positioning, alignment, and use of assistive and prosthetic devices.
• Employs strategies to promote a clean, orderly, and safe environment.
• Effective cross-cultural communication skills ensuring language barriers, cultural norms, and personal preferences are considered.
• Documents all care in the patient record.
• Supports a system that encourages the identification and analysis of errors and near misses in the context of a safety culture.
• Participates in departmental safety inspections to assure compliance with hospital safety standards as assigned.
• Is aware of and compliant with all hospital and regulatory agency safety goals and objectives as well as limitations of unlicensed assistive care.

Benefits

• Excellent health care coverage with no copay at Albany Medical Center providers
• A wide array of services and programs to support emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees