Job Description

General Summary of Position
Coordinates the efforts of the health care team in a specialized area. Initiates plan of care, changing as reassessment of patient need dictates. Ensures that patient, family, and staff are educated. Provides clinical expertise to patients and staff.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Contributes to the achievement of established department goals and objectives and adheres to department policies, procedures, quality standards, and safety standards. Complies with governmental and accreditation regulations.
• Clinical Responsibilities: Identified needs of breastfeeding mother-baby pair and prevents, recognizes and solves breastfeeding difficulties. Serves as an expert resource in the delivery of lactation care to patient. Uses current clinical management of breastfeeding problems and good technical knowledge of equipment.
• Clinical Responsibilities: Maintains specialized knowledge of normal and abnormal newborn nursing physiology, maternal anatomy and physiology and adaptation. Establishes and coordinates MCH infection control activities in collaboration with the Infection Control Department and the Nurse Manager. Serves as role model, resource, leader and change agent for nursing staff. Demonstrates flexibility in time management to meet patient care and unit needs. Serves as expert resource in the larger MedStar system or in the community.
• Communication/Interpersonal: Follows appropriate chain of command. Possesses counseling skills with the ability to establish a rapport with patients from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Demonstrates the ability to establish a supportive milieu for the breastfeeding patient that communicates caring and concern. Effectively communicates with unit/divisional and larger organizational committee work groups. Uses direct and assertive communication skills with all members of the health care team. Communicates breastfeeding advocacy beyond hospital borders.
• Participates in the formulation of policy and procedures and MCH standards of care as the clinical need arises. Yearly revises the mission and objectives of the LRC. Maintains operational budget and cooperates within its framework.
• Participates in and facilitates support groups to meet client and community needs. Cooperate with WIC efforts in breastfeeding promotion. Liaisons with other hospital-based Lactation Consultants. Maintains ILCA and CLCA membership, meetings and positions of responsibility. Participates in area conferences or projects I cooperation with Breastfeeding Promotion in Maryland. Holds responsible position at the national/international level. Initiates, designs and follows through interagency collaborative efforts. Initiates, designs, and facilitates needed support groups for a changing population.
• Chairs and/or participates in ongoing hospital/nursing committees. Keeps all records and statistics current for easy access. Complies activities of the LRC and documents same in an annual report. Applies cost benefit analysis to all operations. Initiates and follows through policy and/or procedure changes. Demonstrates awareness of operational budget needs through cost cutting or revenue generating efforts. Promotes collaboration/research through the sharing/use of statistics.
• Professional Development: Encourages nursing staff to become involved in clinical learning activities as they pertain to breastfeeding patients. Provides leadership, direction and support for the professional development of staff in lactation education. Participates in unit educational programs such as orientation of new staff and introduction of new breastfeeding equipment.
• Participates in orientation of nursing students to the lactation profession. Organizes and delivers in-services to resident and attending physician staff. Attends unit conferences to report on lactation issues. Serves as a clinical consultant to nursing staff within his/her area of neonatal, pediatric, or perinatal expertise. Consistently addresses problem issues using direct, assertive win-win methods. Initiates, prepares and delivers needed continuing education/competency education for staff and residents.
• Quality Management: Is accountable for the outcomes, cost-effectiveness and quality of care for patients within the breastfeeding program. Participates in the development and revision of a quality breastfeeding management program. Communicates with peer group on a collaborative process to monitor quality and effectiveness of care.
• Quality Management: Assures the quality and outcomes of the breastfeeding promotion that supports professional practice, excellence of care and staff development at a program level. Identifies, initiates, designs and follows through with lactation expansion efforts.
• Seeks guidance from appropriate resources when facilitating educational activities outside his/her scope of clinical or educational expertise. Utilizes continuing education opportunities to maintain or advance current lactation clinical knowledge. Keeps up with current research and new trends in patient care. Participates/presents at the national or international level. Demonstrates commitment to improving knowledge by enrollment in continuing formal educational program.
• Functions autonomously providing relationship-based care that promotes continuous, consistent, efficient and accountable delivery of nursing care using the nursing process with a favorable focus on patient experience.
• Serves as a patient advocate by independently communicating clinical concerns, including ethical decisions, in a timely manner to other members of the interdisciplinary team.
• Maintains a safe and therapeutic environment. Identifies actual and potential patient safety issues and acts accordingly while incorporating HRO quality and safety principles.
• Demonstrates effective leadership behaviors. Establishes priorities and delegates tasks to peers and ancillary staff as appropriate to scope of practice and unit requirements.
• Participates in meetings and on committees and represents the department and hospital in community outreach efforts. Participates in multi-disciplinary quality and service improvement teams.

Minimum Qualifications
Education

• Bachelor's degree in nursing required

Experience

• 1-2 years 2 years related RN experience required
• 1-2 years Experience working with breastfeeding mothers preferred

Licenses and Certifications

• RN - Registered Nurse - State Licensure and/or Compact State Licensure Current license as a Registered Nurse in the state or jurisdiction of the facility seeking employment, required and
• IBCLC - International Board Certified Lactation Consultant IBCLC (International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants) certification preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Basic math skills.
• Verbal and written communication skills.
• Basic computer skills required.

This position has a hiring range of $87,318 - $149,094

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