Registered Nurse (RN), Lactation

About the Role

• Registered Nurse (RN) - Lactation Consultant role in a fast-paced hospital setting.
• Provide nursing care to patients by assessing, planning, educating, implementing, and evaluating age-appropriate care.
• Incorporate family-centered principles and cost-effective care.
• Provide support and instruction to mother/infant dyads with breastfeeding needs/lactation problems.
• Support is to be developmentally appropriate for adolescents and adults.
• Willingness to float/work all areas of the main campus.

Key Responsibilities

• Instruct mothers (adolescents and adults) on tasks necessary to initiate and maintain lactation during infant hospitalization, including prenatal instruction and post-discharge follow-up.
• Communicate maternal and infant observations/evaluations and collaborate with the healthcare team for care plan development and modification.
• Document observations, assessments, and recommendations in the patient record.
• Serve as an expert resource to departments and staff regarding hospital policies and procedures for human milk collection, storage, transport, and feeding.
• Obtain information on maternal medication use and evaluate compatibility with breastfeeding or expressed breast milk feeding.
• Report findings to the mother and medical team.
• Demonstrate commitment to team, professionalism, interpersonal skills, communication, and customer service.
• Represent the department and self as a liaison to patients/families, visitors, peers, and other healthcare team members.
• Exercise good judgment when interacting with others and demonstrate positive and effective interpersonal skills.
• Problem-solve, identify appropriate resources, adapt to changes, and handle conflict management professionally and supportively.
• Ensure and participate in ongoing communication with other healthcare team members to enhance the patient's plan of care, advocate for the patient/family, and facilitate unit operations.
• Acquire new knowledge and demonstrate new skills to improve individual, team, and organizational performance.
• Act as a resource to new employees and other team members.
• Participate in departmental and hospital performance improvement activities, offering recommendations and contributing to team goals.
• Provide active membership in hospital work teams/committees requiring Lactation Services participation.
• Participate in the review/update of lactation-related policies, procedures, and workflows, providing feedback to leadership.
• Coordinate Lactation Consultant schedule and assignments, adjusting to census and workload.
• Participate in the orientation and mentoring of new staff to Lactation and Milk Bank areas.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and teamwork skill sets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, associate’s degree, or technical diploma in nursing with acceptance or current enrollment in a BSN program and signed agreement.
• OR an associate’s degree in a related field accepted by the Texas Board of Nursing for RN license purposes.
• OR currently enrolled in a nursing bridge program working toward an MSN with verified BSN-equivalency or a signed agreement.
• 9 months of experience in nursing (minimum).
• RN License by Texas Board of Nursing or Nurse License Compact.
• CPR – Basic Life Support from the American Heart Association.

Preferred Qualifications

• BSN
• IBCLC – International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant
• Knowledgeable of physiologic and social sciences related to breastfeeding and lactation.
• Ability to organize and time manage job tasks effectively.
• Experience providing lactation instruction and support.