laura, others are answering your question quite nicely, and i want to add,
there is no reason that a nurse would not make a perfectly fine LC. in
addition to being an IBCLC i do CST and lymphatic work, and bring other
skills to bear in my work. a nurse could have plenty of skills that enhanced
her work as an LC. however, i hear so often the comments "oh, i can't
prescribe! i can't diagnose! i can't treat - its against my rules as a nurse!
i can only 'suggest' to the mother that she choose to do this or that, and
'suggest' to the mother that she use this drug or herbal product." this is
quite different from the role i assume as an LC. so often, especially in the
hospital setting where nurses must follow prescribed rules, i think that
there IS a significant liability to be had in wearing both hats.

and, it is not so much the idea that a nurse cannot be an LC, it is the
insufferable attitude that "we are better because we are nurses and will
NEVER hire anyone who is not an RN in our hospital," meanwhile, the people on
staff that are LCs are not always certified ("the five day course is
perfectly adequate" i was told by one hospital's nursing director when we
disagreed about information given by one of her educators) and often give the
most appalling advice, while never having a clue about what they see.

my latest patient spent 48 hours in hospital with a completely non-latching
baby (who is physically incapable of latching with this mother) and what help
did she get? repeated shoving of the baby's head and chin by a series of
"LCs" who failed to grasp anything at all about this dyad. the last one she
allowed to "help" her spent an hour and a half shoving on the baby, and at
last fixed the mother with an exasperated look and told her "this is where
discipline begins - you must make the baby do what you want."

what? oh, don't even ask. i am too busy working on my alternative business
(see sharon knorr's post, amen, sister) to even get too upset about it. not
having a lucrative enough alternate profession, and having spent far too much
of my family's money on this hopeless venture, my practice will probably end
even sooner than some others.

carol brussel IBCLC

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