I love this discussion - and would like to add another item:
Communication skills - being open to different beliefs, cultures, and knowing how to communicate to people in very emotionally charged situations is something I do almost daily. Few people value the need to LEARN and PRACTICE those skills - and polish them often.
I think my La Leche League moms and co-leaders help to keep me "grounded" in this - and my WIC friends keep me up to date in the latest information and styles of education, training and motivational interviewing.
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I also want to put out a cautionary note - IBCLCs cannot do it ALL or know it ALL or fix it ALL - I believe many IBCLCs have been FORCED to learn/do much more, due to the lack of collaborators in their area - and I recognize that as a problem.
I wonder if BECOMING the specialist in all those fields might just continue to create an overwhelmed and isolated IBCLC ("SHE thinks she knows EVERYTHING").
Perhaps we need to add to our "bucket list" the ability to reach out and create a support team of all those specialties we need. When I give presentations to nursing and medical students, I list the specialists that THEY should know around them so that THEY don't feel overwhelmed. (it can be found at: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/healthyliving/childfamily/Pages/BFP-MdlHospToolkitPolicy1.aspx under: __"Fill in" (Word) list to begin a local resources list__
Jeanette Panchula
California, USA
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