Kathleen said,

> As long as we stand divided on this issue, which we are now, with many
> routes to various "competencies," and as long as the credential of IBCLC is
> not seen as the basic minimum with which to practice lactation
> consultation, we will have a weakened and diluted "profession,"  with
> reduced ability to provide a standard of good care, and we will have less
> chance to be  recognized and taken seriously in the field of health care
> providers. Ethics, information, practice skill, and oversight of all of the
> above are crucial.  My opinion only.
>

Well said, Kathleen!  Applause, applause!!  And yes, the end-of-course
"certification" IS a marketing tool, and it IS about money.  Why should
someone take a course that doesn't offer a "Certified Whatever" title when
they can take a course that does -- and then they can advertise themselves,
as Lisa pointed out, as offering "breastfeeding consultations" because they
are a "Certified Whatever."  So people flock to the "certification" courses
so they have "something" to attach to their name.  And for many, they don't
want to be an IBCLC, because a "Certified Whatever" is good enough for them
-- and the hospital accepts them, and the public accepts them -- and one and
all are being duped.

This, before people get all huffy, is not about how good or not good the
individual may be.  It is about the credential, and the educational programs
that offer them for the sake of the almighty $$ (or yen, or franc, or peso).

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC -- Wheaton IL
Lactation Education Consultants
www.lactationeducationconsultants.com

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