One reason for the practice hour requirement is to ensure candidates a
fair chance of passing the exam, so as not to waste money and time. This
is why it has been revised a few times, as more data was collected re:
candidates' experience and collated with their scores.
I think a residency or mentoring program would be a wonderful
idea, but we are not really numerous or organized enough to make it
feasible...
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Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC NYC [log in to unmask]