Patricia said:

"you will sit your boards not just for your own satisfaction but so that
you can say to the mother you are assisting... i am internationally
board certified in my field... that is why she needs to listen and hear
you...this is your specialty."

I agree wholeheartedly with this, however, I have been rather disgusted this
past year with how little my employer values the credentials.  In our area
competing hospitals have lactation clinics being run by non-IBCLC's, but during
a meeting with our hospital's marketing department I was told that this does not
matter.  The public knows nothing about credentials and will assume that if the
person is doing the job he/she must be competent.  (And, of course, the person
doing that job may be more knowledgeable than I am, but without the credentials,
I feel the public has no protection.)

Since I am paid on the same scale as the RN's but have extra responsibilities
and continuing education requirements (nurses don't in Wisconsin) I have also
maintained that it is reasonable to be paid for at least part of my expenses to
travel to the ILCA conference each year.  The response to that this year is
"well, if you don't recertify you'll still know just as much and can still do
the job."  AAGH!  They do seem to care deeply if the nurses renew their
licenses--I think I'd rather be licensed than certified.

Our agency just changed its name once again and I have a new name tag sitting on
my desk.  No one has credentials anymore (the RN's have their name with
"registered nurse" under it) so mine simply says "lactation consultant."  I'm
waiting to be grumbled at because I'm still wearing the old one with "IBCLC"
after my name.

I wholeheartedly support efforts to make the practice requirements more easily
acquired by non-medical folks, but hope we can continue to make the IBCLC more
well-known and expected by the public.

Becky Krumwiede, RN (license renewed but no longer competent), IBCLC
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