Registered Nurse Lactation Consultant PRN

Registered Nurse Lactation Consultant

PRN Nights 6:45P - 7:15A

UTSW is a great place for an experienced RN Lactation nurse to join our team in the Women's Resources Center. Our lactation services are one reason many moms choose Clements University Hospital. We're part of the Texas Ten Step Program, which involves a highly supportive, compassionate approach to breastfeeding. Our team includes certified lactation consultants who are available seven days a week, and our Women's Resource Center provides ongoing breastfeeding support and education.

Experience and Education

Licensed Registered Nurse in state of Texas and two (2) years of mother baby and lactation assistant experience is required.

Registered Nurse with Texas license, current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, course accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross (ARC) required.

NRP from the American Academy of Pediatrics required.

Lactation consultant with IBCLC certification.

Job Summary

Mother/Baby and the Women's Resources Center is 14 beds with overflow to Labor and Delivery. The patient population is antepartum patients, postpartum mothers and well babies. Our unit specializes in Mother Baby care. We teach baby care, breastfeeding, home care and self-care. The antepartum patients with pregnancy complications stay with us for a while and we care for them and assist with activities to help them. Our Lactation consultants help all patients and our Women Resources Center schedules follow up visits for weight checks, jaundice, and lactation assistance.

Job Duties

Performs and accurately documents physical, psychosocial, and emotional assessments. All assessments take into consideration age specific criteria (children, adolescents, adults and elder adults).

Actively anticipates patient's and/or patient's family needs and expectations and utilizes these in conjunction with the assessment to develop an appropriate plan of care for the patient. Utilizes critical thinking skills in planning and prioritizing lactation nursing care. Maintains and utilizes competencies per unit expectation.

Identifies and implements appropriate nursing interventions based on the completed assessment. Completes accurate and timely documentation of these interventions. Active coordinator of the interdisciplinary plan of care. Confers with all members of the health care team in a collaborative fashion. Shares information and observations of the patient and/or patient's family in a manner that advocates for optimal patient care.

Appropriately prioritizes lactation nursing interventions based upon completed assessment. Promptly identifies changes in condition as evidenced by nursing assessment, labs, x-rays, etc. Reports changes, takes follow-up action as appropriate. Actively involves patient in plan of care and keeps patient, family and/or caregiver informed.

Evaluates implemented interventions and modifies care according to the evaluation. Documents interventions and modifications to the plan of care in an accurate and timely manner.

Adheres to appropriate hospital and/or Department of Nursing policies, procedures, clinical pathways and nationally accepted standards of nursing practice. Incorporates ANA standards, professional practice model (Shared governance) and care delivery model (Relationship Based Care) into the provision of safe, quality patient care. Nursing care is based on current literature and research.

Provides appropriate & timely answers and/or education to patients, patient's families, significant others and/or caregivers. Completes accurate and timely documentation of all education provided including discharge plan of care. Assesses competence, obtains feedback/evaluation of understanding from patient, family, significant others and/or /caregivers. Demonstrates effective communication based on individual patient needs and learning preferences.

Welcomes and orients patient, family, significant other and/or caregiver to the unit. Encourages patient/family participation in care. Reviews personalized patient lactation plan of care with patient/family every shift. Updates white boards accordingly and sets daily goals with patient input.

Advocate for resources and support that enhance patient safety and unit/hospital based initiatives. Participates in evaluating data to guide decisions regarding unit / department budget formulation and implementation.

Performs Peer Evaluation to provide constructive feedback to peers regarding performance. Holds co-workers accountable for their behavior and compliance with policies and standards. Actively intervenes when patient safety is at risk.

Performance Improvement: Accountable for patient care and quality/safety initiatives (EX: patient safety, patient satisfaction, infection control).

Shares professional and technical information with colleagues and students. Offers self as a resource as needed to others (Example: unit expert, lends a hand when needed). Duties performed may include one or more of the following core functions: a) Directly interacting with or caring for patients; b) Directly interacting with or caring for human-subjects research participants; c) Regularly maintaining, modifying, releasing or similarly affecting patient records (including patient financial records); or d) Regularly maintaining, modifying, releasing or similarly affecting human-subjects research records.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate enforced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is a requirement for this position. Federal law requires individuals holding this position to be fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption for certain medical, disability, or religious reasons. Individuals who do not meet CMS vaccination requirements are not eligible and should not apply for this position but are encouraged to apply for other non-healthcare positions at UT Southwestern for which they qualify.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/

For COVID-19 vaccine information, applicants should visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/covid-19/work-on-campus/

Working Conditions

Constant walking, standing, bending, turning, and stooping. Pushing and pulling heavy objects such as patient beds. Must be able to help lift and turn patients. Pass pre-employment physical exam including color blind testing. Any qualifications to be considered as equivalents in lieu of stated minimum require prior approval of Vice President for Human Resources Administration or his/her designee.

Security

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.