I think some of the facts are jumbled up here. We are all free to take
whatever positions we want on the issue of qualified clinical care -- but
we should do so based on solid facts and evidence (said the lawyer). Think
of it as informed decision-making *by the healthcare professional.*
CLC, ALC and ANLC have all been accredited by ANCC -- not IBLCE.
http://www.nursecredentialing.org/AccreditedCompetencyCourses.aspx. ALC
and ANLC are skills-based competency credentials; the CLC a knowledge-based
competency credential. (The IBCLC *exam* is knowledge-based, although
clinical training is required in order to sit the exam.)
ILCA is an independent, international member organization that has nothing
to do with IBCLC exam; IBLCE is the independent, international organization
that has everything to do with the IBCLC exam. There are 22,000 IBCLC
certificants worldwide; about 6,000 of those have chosen to join ILCA.
Neither IBLCE, nor ILCA, nor WIC, nor LLLI, nor you, nor I, can "do"
anything about other valid certification exams ... or any of the other in
the myriad of "initialed breastfeeding helpers" that are out there
(primarily in the USA) that do culminate in an exam.
CLC, ALC and ANLC are valid certifications, whose testing has been
accredited by an independent organization with authority to do so (ANCC --
much like IBLCE is the independent organization that awards the IBCLC
credential ). The creators and marketers of the CLC credential did all of
the very same things that anyone does when they want to get a certification
for a credential up-and-running (as IBLCE did for the IBCLC exam, via the
procedure at the independent accrediting agency NCCA/ICE,
http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/GeneralCertificationInfomation/MemberOrganizations/ICEOrganizationalMembers/tabid/68/Default.aspx
).
Of all of the "other" initials out there, CLC ALC and ANLC are the only
**non-IBCLC** credential programs that have jumped through the various
hoops required to (a) offer a qualified certification exam, (b) given by an
independent organization, (c) that has been accredited to give such an
exam, (d) by an independent accrediting organization, (e) allowing a
credential to be awarded upon successful completion of the test.
The distinction between the IBCLC from IBLCE, and the CLC from HC/ALPP [the
testing arm]/ANCC, is that IBCLC is **international** and CLC is based
solely in the USA. Hence, the marketers of CLC proclaim it is "the premier
National Certification in Lactation Management for the United States (
http://www.healthychildren.cc/ )" in the same way IBLCE proclaims "The
IBLCE examination is the premier, internationally recognized measure of
knowledge in lactation consulting (http://www.iblce.org/home)."
Is five days of classroom work, allowing one to take the CLC certification
exam, perhaps topped by five days of classroom and skills training,
allowing one then to take the ALC exam, the same as the **hundreds if not
thousands** of hours of classroom and clinical training required to become
IBCLC? My personal position is: No.
Is there "room" in the world for lots and lots of breastfeeding helpers,
able to provide different levels of support and expertise expertise? My
personal position is: Yes.
Is there a lot of confusion out there in the marketplace (by mothers who
use and hire IBCLC; by healthcare providers who ought to be referring to
IBCLCs; by public health or health facility administrators who ought to be
hiring IBCLCs on staff) about the differences between all these different
"initialed breastfeeding helpers" and who is best qualified to do what? My
personal position is: You betcha.
The challenge for individual IBCLCs, and their professional association
ILCA, is to market **the IBCLC profession**, so that mothers, HCPs and
administrators DO know the differences in training, expertise, and
professional-liability-insurability (not a small matter in the USA) that
each set of initials offers. I am glad that this is part of ILCA's current
strategic plan, and has been for several years now.
The IBCLC credential has only been around for 26 years. Heck -- the WHO
Code pre-dates the profession. It should not surprise any of us that there
is confusion in the marketplace about the role of the IBCLC, at this very
early stage of the life of this allied healthcare profession. But there is
still a heckuva lot of work to be done.
--
Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA (former and future ILCA Board member wiling to
pull an oar, and student of these topics as a book author on legal/ethical
issues)
Wyndmoor, PA, USA
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
