I wanted to comment on this thread as I am a non-RN hospital based LC. I
have worked in 3 different hospitals by the way as an LC. There can be
advantages and disadvantages to this as has been pointed out. It's
difficult to lump together "All non-RN LCs" and assume that we may not
be able to pick up on those off-base things because we've never been to
nursing school. Some non-Rn (PT, OT, RD, LD) IBCLC know more about
particular area than others. We can draw on their knowledge and
experience.
As a community based private practice LC (and LLLL) for many years I had
more experience with older babies; that is 3 days old and up. Asute
observation skills and intuition are important no matter what a person's
educational or professional background is. My years in a hospital
setting have sharpened my skills and I have been privledged to work with
LCs with many years NICU, NBN and PP experience who have taught those
skills to me. I also have two years pre-nursing ed. but due to family
situations, left the program before I began my clinicals; and
transferred to a 4 year school majoring in business and marketing. I
often daydream about finishing my RN.....but the point of this post is
to re-inforce our team building skills and learn from each other. I'n
sure the original poster didn't mean it to come across that way but it
seemed condescending.  One funny thing is that Vicki and I are old pals
from way back and I would trust her instincts any day...RN or no RN.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.
Mary Kay Smith, CLE, IBCLC
Romeoville (near Chicago), IL