Lactation Consultant - Mother Baby - Per Diem - Evenings

Hackensack Meridian Health•Hackensack, NJ

22h•$55

About The Position

The Lactation Consultant provides direct patient care and consultation related to breastfeeding in accordance with professional nursing standards. The role assesses, provides, teaches, and evaluates lactation education programs for childbearing clients, their families, and appropriate hospital employees. The consultant helps mothers improve breastfeeding skills and achieve their lactation goals, serves as a resource for hospital staff, students, and community members, develops patient and staff education programs, contributes to breastfeeding standards of care, and participates in continuous performance improvement.

Requirements

Graduate of an NLN/AACN-accredited nursing program.
At least 5 years of maternal-child health or nursery experience as a staff nurse.
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant certification.
Neonatal Resuscitation Program certification.
New Jersey State Professional Registered Nurse License.

Responsibilities

Assess, provide, teach, and evaluate lactation education for childbearing clients, families, and appropriate hospital employees.
Develop, implement, and evaluate plans of care for patients experiencing difficulty initiating or maintaining lactation.
Conduct bedside lactation rounds daily and document lactation and teaching interventions.
Use effective teaching methods based on adult learning principles.
Help parents and families understand alternatives that may be needed to achieve lactation goals, and communicate relevant information to the health team.
Develop and conduct staff competencies, workshops, and in-services on current lactation practices; ensure lactation services are timely.
Assist breastfeeding mothers in other hospital areas, including when mothers and infants are separated because of illness or emergencies.
Create, review, evaluate, and revise breastfeeding policies using evidence-based principles and hospital standards and guidelines.
Participate in and conduct daily discharge teaching and breastfeeding classes with the Mother/Baby RN, following the prescribed outline.
Promote awareness of the hospital rental station in the Women's Gift Shop to patients and families.
Attend the yearly International Conference to maintain certification and inform leadership of trends and needed policy, procedure, or protocol changes.
Maintain the medical center's mandatory education requirements.
Identify patient needs and adapt care and communication to age, culture, language, sensory abilities, development, education, and literacy.
Perform other assigned duties, including nursery assignments and newborn coverage on overflow units.
Adhere to the standards identified in the Medical Center's Organizational Competencies.