Registered Nurse, RN- Lactation Consultant

Love + medicine is who we are, it's what we do, it's why people want to work here. If you’re looking for a job to love, apply today.

Schedule Weekly Hours:

Gundersen Health System is seeking a RN, Lactation Consultant.

What you will do:

• 0.8 FTE=64 hours/every two weeks
• Work Monday-Friday between 7:30am-4pm, every 5-6th weekend and rotating holidays
• Provide breastfeeding guidance and support in theinpatient and outpatient setting in La Crosse and Onalaska

What you need:

• Associate Degree in Nursing
• RN licensure to practice in the state of Wisconsin
• Certified Lactation Consultant (CLC) required upon hire and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) required within 2 years of hire
• Basic Life Support CPR

What you will get:

• Gundersen's generous compensation and benefit package, including our top-rated retirement plan
• Growth opportunities and access to Gundersen's Career Development Center to help you navigate your career

Gundersen Health System Hospital and Clinics comprises 7 hospitals and 33 clinics. We bring care close to home for our patients in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.  Inside our walls and our neighborhoods, we deliver world-class medical care and the right amount of love. We call it love + medicine and it’s more than our practice. It is who we are.

Job Description:

Functions as an agent of the patient while providing the full scope of nursing care. Analyzes information, monitors patients, and takes action to facilitate wellness and healing. Delegates and supervises assistive personnel. Meets the expectations of a professional employee. Role is professional, specialized, and connected to an episode of nursing care. Provides the lactating patient with the information, education, skills and clinical treatments essential to the successful attainment of her breastfeeding goals. Responsible and accountable for the assessment, planning, implementation and documentation of treatment plans for the management of lactation problems. Acts as a breastfeeding resource for medical and nursing staff. Promotes breastfeeding as the preferred feeding methods for newborns and infants in the community.

Major Responsibilities:
1. Patient Information Analysis:
Collaborates with patient/family and prioritize patient needs, problems and goals; intervenes or refers.
Evaluates, compares and interprets ambiguous and changing patient data.
Explores patients understanding and knowledge of current health status.
Consistently and intuitively demonstrates and documents skills according to the ILCA Standards of Practice for Lactation Consultants for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care in a variety of situation, both simple and complex.

2. Patient Observation and Monitoring:
Applies nursing judgment to determine level of care assigned or delegated.
Uses knowledge of complex physiology to monitor, detect, anticipate early and subtle health status changes.
Monitors, trends and records patient response to disease, illness, treatment.

3. Nursing Action:
Accountable for individualized plan of care and its delivery.
a) Applies specialized expertise to solve problems, generate ideas, plan care, teach and create new services.
b) Assigns Standards of Care
c) Uses scientific background, knowledge of change theory, ability to work with an interdisciplinary team and psychosocial skills to coordinate effective and efficient care for the patient.
d) Collaborates with patients about plan of care.
e) Guides development of multiple health care partnerships to achieve a positive health effect.
Maintains purposeful therapeutic presence with patient based on nursing judgment.
Provides care based on patient complexity and nursing judgment.
Uses patients' perspective to support informed decision-making.
The Lactation Consultant will:
a) Educate parents and families to encourage informed decision-making about infant and chile feeding.
b) Provide anticipatory teaching to promoteideal breastfeeding practices and minimize the potential for breastfeeding problems or complications.
c) Provide inpatient care in a complete, accurate and timely way tomothers/families who are experiencing breastfeeding problems or who are at risk for breastfeeding failure.
d) Communicate and collaborate with other health care professionals.
e) Provide outpatient consultations.
f) Develop and implement treatment plans in a manner appropriate to the situation and acceptable to the mother.

4. Promotes patient wellness and facilitates healing:
Anticipates future needs and educates or refers to valid sources of information.
Understands the patient's unique perspective and assures right education, right time, right environment for learning.
Evaluates outcome of learning.

5. Delegation and supervision of assistive personnel:
Delegates care based on situation while assuming accountability for patient outcome.
Fosters teamwork and respect.
Assures effective use of staffing resources.
Supports assistive personnel: Serves as a resource and holds assistive personnel accountable to complete delegated tasks.
Provides counseling, education and support to Gundersen Lutheran employees who are returning to work after maternity leave and plan to continue to breastfeed.
Provides breastfeeding education to groups of patients through the New Life Education Department.
Educate other health care professional by sharing current research-based information and demonstrating skill, thereby empowering those professionals to provide informed and appropriate guidance to the breastfeeding family.

6. Professional expectations:
Ascribes to the ANA Code of Ethics for professional nursing practice.
Commits to culturally congruent care.
Commits to continuous learning.
Participates in education of nursing colleagues and students.
Commits to evidence-based practice and the conduct of nursing research.
Commits to mission, vision and values of organization and to the profession of nursing.
Assures compliance with JCAHO, Recommendations and Competencies for Lactation Consultant Practice, IBCLC Code of Ethics and the nurse practice act.
Participates in quality improvement activities in order to continuously improve patient care, health outcomes and unit operations. Functions as a leader in staff meeting.
Develops and updates written patient education material relating to breastfeeding.
Assist in the implementation of the Gundersen Lutheran Breast Feeding Policy. Monitors breastfeeding policies, standards of care and procedures as necessary.
Works to promote breastfeeding in the community.
Maintains and expands knowledge and skills for Lactation Consultant Practice by participating in continuing education programs and professional development activities and by readingcurrent literature.

7. Patient agent responsibilities:
Creates an environment that assures patient safety.
Promotes healing by creating an environment that conserves patient energy.
Instills confidence in the patient's own ability to regain/optimize their own health.
Partners with patient to help them integrate health status changes into their life.

Education and Learning:
REQUIRED
Associate degree in Nursing.

DESIRED
Bachelor's degree in Nursing

Work Experience:
DESIRED
1 year Previous experience in nursing. Previous Lactation Consultant experience.

License and Certifications:
REQUIRED
Registered Nurse (RN) licensed minimally in the state of practice, some positions may require additional state RN licenses.

Certified Lactation Consultant (CLC)

**Upon completion of the IBCLC certification, the CLC will no longer be required to be maintained.

International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) within 2 years of hire.

Current Infant-Adult Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers (with hands on learning) from one of the following programs; American Heart Association or American Red Cross.

Age Specific Population Served:
Unit/Department Specific

OSHA Category:
Category I - All Employees in this job title have a reasonably anticipated risk of occupational exposure to blood and/or other potentially infectious materials.

Environmental Conditions:
Exposed to infectious diseases.
Subject to both inside and outside environmental conditions.

Physical Requirements/Demands Of The Position:
Sitting Frequently (34-66% or 5.5 hours)
Static Standing Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Walking/Standing Occasionally (6-33% or 3 hours)
Driving Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Stooping/Bending Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Squatting Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Kneeling/Half Kneel Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Climbing Stair Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Climbing Ladder Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Reaching - Shoulder Level Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Reaching - Below Shoulder Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Reaching - Above Shoulder Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Repetitive Actions - Pinch Forces Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Pounds of force 0-25
Repetitive Actions - Grip Forces Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Pounds of force 0-25
Repetitive Actions - Fine Manipulation Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Balance - Right Leg Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Balance - Left Leg Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours)
Lifting - Floor to Waist Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Lifting - Waist to Overhead Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Lifting - Other Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Carrying - Long Carry (>50 feet) Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Carrying - Short Carry Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Carrying - Right Carry Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25

Carrying - Left Carry Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25
Push/Pull (Static Force) Rarely (1-5% or .5 hours) Number of lbs 0-25

If you need assistance with any portion of the application or have questions about the position, please contact [email protected] or call 608-775-0267

Equal Opportunity Employer