Lactation Consultant - Women's and Children's Health

Lactation Consultant

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in nursing.
• Three (3) years' clinical experience.

Licenses, Registrations or Certifications

• Basic Cardiac Life Support (BLS).
• Valid state of Texas Professional Nursing (RN) license.
• Certified International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certification.

Job Summary:

The Lactation Consultant is responsible for providing support for the mother-infant breastfeeding dyad. The tasks include assessment, planning, interventions and evaluation of lactation support and education for clients in the postpartum period. The Lactation Consultant will promote a breastfeeding friendly environment.

Job Duties:

• Facilitates breastfeeding support for postpartum and neonatal patients.
• Facilitates breastfeeding support for pediatric patients.
• Supports the efforts to increase breastfeeding support to all neonatal infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), to include direct support with mothers and neonates.
• Actively promotes breastfeeding and assists mothers in reaching their own goals for breastfeeding.
• Supports outpatients through breastfeeding programs including breastfeeding support groups, Breastfeeding Warm Line, clinics and other services as needed.
• Communicates with the Pediatric Team and OB Team to improve lactation support for clients who elect to breastfeed.
• Adjusts teaching to meet patient and family needs including language and literacy level.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of patient and family education.
• Documents oral assessment, maternal history, latch, patient education, and other essential information in accordance with practice standards in the electronic medical record or other required documentation.
• Understands and utilizes equipment related to breastfeeding.
• Participates in the evaluation of new products and equipment, as necessary.
• Supports hospital employees who are breastfeeding.
• Responsible for coordinating staff competencies, education, and documentation of these activities.
• Establishes and maintains contact with patients who require assistance or those referred for outpatient assistance.
• Participates in Quality Improvement and research processes to benefit the improvement of clinical interventions.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Knowledgeable and skilled in the physiology and clinical management of breastfeeding.
• Assess patient and family emotional, cognitive, social, and motivational status relative to learning and determines their educational needs and priorities.
• Adjusts teaching plan evaluates effectiveness to meet patient and family needs.
• Develops or obtains suitable educational materials to facilitate patient understanding of content.
• Maintains professional growth to maintain high-quality in-patient support and education.

Preferred Qualifications:

One (1) or more years' of lactation consultant experience.

Salary Range:

Actual salary commensurate with experience.

Work Schedule:

Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm and as needed on occasion.

Equal Employment Opportunity

UTMB Health strives to provide equal opportunity employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. As a VEVRAA Federal Contractor, UTMB Health takes affirmative action to hire and advance women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Compensation