Doula

Labor And Delivery Doula

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.

Essential Duties and 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.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma/G.E.D. - required
• 1-3 years working with laboring patients - required
• 1-3 years as a Doula with a deep understanding of the childbirth process and postpartum recovery - preferred
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology preferred.
• Able to communicate effectively with organizational and external customers as well as agencies.
• The ideal candidate will have strong understanding of various cultural practices, beliefs, and traditions related to childbirth and postpartum period.
• Demonstrates responsibility and accountability for actions.
• BCLS - Basic Life Support Upon Hire - required
• CD - Certified Labor Support Doula within 180 Days - required

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate. Physical Demands

• Standing - Constantly
• Walking - Constantly
• Sitting - Rarely
• Lifting - Frequently
• Carrying - Frequently
• Pushing - Occasionally
• Pulling - Occasionally
• Climbing - Occasionally
• Balancing - Occasionally
• Stooping - Frequently
• Kneeling - Frequently
• Crouching - Frequently
• Crawling - Occasionally
• Reaching - Frequently
• Handling - Frequently
• Grasping - Frequently
• Feeling - Constantly
• Talking - Constantly
• Hearing - Constantly
• Repetitive Motions - Constantly
• Eye/Hand/Foot Coordination - Constantly

Working Conditions

• Noise - Constantly
• Hazards - Frequently
• Extreme cold - Rarely
• Extreme heat - Rarely
• Humidity - Rarely
• Wet - Rarely
• Temperature Change - Rarely
• Atmospheric Conditions - Rarely
• Vibration - Rarely

Thank you for your interest in Albany Medical Center!Albany Medical Center is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Medical Center, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that: Access to information is based on a "need to know" and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Medical Center policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.