Registered Nurse- Lactation Specialist

St. Josephs Medical Center•Houston, TX

23h•Onsite

About The Position

The lactation consultant is a knowledgeable and experienced member of the maternal-child health team at St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC), possessing specialized skills in breastfeeding management and care. This role involves critiquing, evaluating, and incorporating evidence-informed findings into practice, while supporting practices that promote breastfeeding as the child-feeding norm. SJMC, Houston's first and only downtown hospital, has been providing world-class care for over 137 years. The center offers a wide range of services, including the Advanced Wound Care Center, Comprehensive Cardiac and Vascular Services, the Women's Center, the St. Joseph Maternal Fetal Medicine Center, and a Weight Loss Surgery Program. SJMC is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all its care and employment practices, ensuring a compassionate journey for patients from diagnosis to treatment.

Requirements

Licensed as a Registered Nurse accepted by Texas State Board of Nursing to engage in professional nursing.
International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certification is needed.
Technical, clerical, critical thinking and interpersonal skills relevant to patientcare/area.
Current American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification required.
Other certification requirements as defined by the certification policy.
Able to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.

Nice To Haves

Baccalaureate degree or progression to this degree.
National Certification as recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Bi or Multilingual

Responsibilities

Consistently supports and communicates the Mission, Vision, and Values of St. Joseph Medical Center.
Upholds the Standards of Conduct and Corporate Compliance.
Provides one to one breastfeeding instruction to lactating mothers requiring additional support beyond the mother-baby nurse's scope.
Assesses patient's breastfeeding knowledge and uses clinical judgment to determine health care needs of patient and appropriate plan of care.
Incorporates the patient's physiological, psychological, cultural, developmental and spiritual needs into the plan of care.
Consistently follows patient care, and facility guidelines and procedures in performance.
Directs support personnel in implementing patient's plan of care, provides supervision and guidance, and evaluates effectiveness of the delegated tasks.
Collaborates with inter and intraprofessional colleagues to ensure quality outcomes.
Promotes breastfeeding and assists mothers in reaching their own goals of breastfeeding.
Completes annual education requirements.
Maintains competency, as evidenced by completion of competency validation requirements.
Promotes of a culture of patient safety which results in the identification and reduction of unsafe practices.
Uses nursing process to provide all levels of patient care.
Uses professional judgment and critical thinking to prepare, prioritize, and execute the patient's plan of care consistent with patient assessment data, physicians' treatment plans, and professional standards of care.
Implements measures to prevent exposure to infectious pathogens and communicable conditions.
Reviews care routines, policies, procedures and/or other aspects of the mother-baby hospital experience with involved clinical staff in order to highlight successes or needs of the breast feeding dyad.
Expertise with pharmaceuticals and the effects on lactation.
Possesses specialized skills and abilities regarding: assessment, intervention based on patient history and assessment, initiation and modification of complex situations and related therapies and interventions.
Other duties as assigned
Maintains competency and knowledge of current standards of practice, trends, and developments.
Enhances the patient experience by fostering a positive relationship with customers.
Contributes to improving the patient satisfaction results.
Conveys knowledge and skilled in the physiology and clinical management of breastfeeding-to-breastfeeding staff.