Dear all,

After reading all the comments, I'm sort of baffled.
It may be me, but I do not get the meaning of what Laurie is saying at all! 
:-s
As soon as you get your certification after your *first* exam (which is in 
October after you sat the exam in July), you are an IBCLC and will be 
working towards your first/second/third *REcertification*.
(Attention: a *first REcertification* is not the same as a *first 
CERTification!! With a *first CERTification*, you are NOT an IBCLC until 
October; with a *first REcertification*, you REMAIN an IBCLC, until the exam 
results say you failed.)
As far as I understood Amy's situation, she was mentored by an IBCLC (so: an 
lc who still has a valid certificate).
We *ALL* are IBCLC's who have not yet REcertified, as long as we are between 
two exams!!
Sometimes we have another three years to go before we have to recertify, 
sometimes another three months, and all shades in between.
Susan N. asks why the lc offered Amy to mentor her *before* 
recertification*, but we *ALL* mentor before recertification, per 
definition!
A mentor is valid until her certification expires in October (i.e. after not 
passing the exam, not having handed in enough CERPs or not even sitting the 
exam or handing in CERPs at all).
Every certified IBCLC (so: an lc with a valid certificate) is an IBCLC that 
has to recertify (in five years or less) and is therefore *before 
recertification*.
Your certification does not expire until the exam results say you failed (or 
after you could not hand in enough CERPs).
All the hours you mentored *before* losing your certification, are valid 
hours for the one you mentored, in my opinion.
(Kathy B. brought up a good point with regard to dates: I think 
certification does not count until December, but until October of each 
five-year period after your first certification in Oct. after sitting in 
July.)
Sonya M.'s explanations was very to the point, in my view, and Gonneke was 
right saying that there is no such thing in Amy's situation of stretching 
the rules.
You *have* to be an IBCLC (so: an lc who still has a valid certificate) to 
mentor someone.
You are *not* an IBCLC if you don't have a valid certificate!
You *are* an IBCLC (so: an lc who still has a valid certificate) until the 
exam results in October say otherwise.
Therefore, it doesn't make the slightest difference whatsoever in what month 
of the year you mentor an aspiring IBCLC.
You *are* an IBCLC unless the exam results tell you differently.
Those who have constantly recertified over the last 25 years, have *not* had 
several periods of not being an IBCLC.
If the situation is what I understand it to be (Amy being mentored by an 
IBCLC, so: an lc who has a valid certificate), it is not Amy who is 
stretching the rules, but IBLCE...
This whole situation is not merely about Amy; it is about the importance of 
IBLCE applying the rules correctly with coherent thinking.
If they don't apply the rules correctly for one, they might also make 
mistakes with someone else. It is thus a principle issue.
Not applying the rules correctly, causes inequality, which we often discuss 
on this list as being undesirable in other circumstances.
We all deserve to know until when our certification is valid to be able to 
adhere to our Code of Ethics, which also says we should not present 
ourselves as IBCLCs without valid certification.
I would say it is important that this matter is cleared up.

Bye,

Marianne Vanderveen IBCLC, the Netherlands

P.S. @Julie T.: You are not serious, right, saying that you are suprised 
that the exam is not available in different languages...? Of course it is! 
It's just not ALL languages, which can be a big hinderance for those who do 
not speak one of the almost twenty available languages. And as far as I 
know: there is no additional cost to the exam if you want to take it in, 
say, Dutch (as I did).

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "laurie wheeler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2010 4:23 PM
Subject: [LACTNET] mentoring rules from IBLCE


>I can see the point of the candidate who cannot use her mentored hours 
>until
> after her mentor passes her *first* recertification in July.
> And I see the other side of the argument as well.
> What if IBLCE allowed candidates to start their mentoring process and
> logging of hours with an
> IBCLC who had not yet re-certified? There might be many such
> applicants/candidates who would have a situation in which the mentor did 
> not
> pass her recertification or who choose not to re-take or could not re-take
> at last minute, for whatever reason. Then there would be several 
> candidates
> who had to restart the whole process with another mentor, and I'm sure a
> bunch of paperwork that had to be done over again.
> If IBLCE allows candidates to work with someone starting in May (prior to
> taking first recert in July), then there will be other candidates who 
> would
> ask to 'stretch the rules' to maybe March, or have a mentor who has been 
> an
> IBCLC for 30 yrs but has never recertified, but is planning to, and it's
> June?
> Do you see where I am coming from? They have to draw the line somewhere.
> What I am saying, and I don't think this will be a popular statement, is
> that the candidate did not select a qualified mentor (one who had passed a
> recert already). I am sure that finding a qualified mentor is not easy,
> sorry.

             ***********************************************

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