And what RN in the USA is going to get 90 hours of additional education within a 5 year period (some they already have I'm sure), to earn their IBCLC when their hospital will not pay extra for that extra credential? Mine does not even pay extra for earning an RNC but you do get your name on a plaque and the hospital gets to brag about how many RNCs they have on staff. But do you think they might brag about how many RN-IBCLCs they have and put their names on a plaque? NOT!
Phyllis


---- Wendy Blumfield <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 

=============
Is nobody questioning the ethics of moving the goalposts.  Over the years, 
many highly qualified breastfeeding counsellors , trained by their local 
organizations, have been preparing to study for the IBCLC certificate, a 
process which I think is the equivalent of taking a "second degree".  Those 
candidates have invested time and money on reading, research and attending 
study events in their own countries.

And suddenly IBCLC add the requirement that candidates must have a nursing 
degree.
From my experience in Israel I would say that every nurse working in the 
field of maternity health, in hospitals or community clinics, should have 
IBCLC or equivalent qualifications.
But that certainly does not mean that a highly motivated candidate, perhaps 
qualified in other caring professions such as social work, education, etc. 
should now be excluded from the opportunity to enhance their qualifications.

Breastfeeding, like childbirth education, is not a medical issue.  Of course 
a counsellor needs in-depth knowledge of physiology and mother/infant 
health.  But what makes the difference between a practitioner and a 
counsellor is empathy, communication, the art of listening.  In the training 
courses that I have co-ordinated, I did not experience a higher level of 
those qualities in students who were trained nurses.

It`s not just what you know but how you project it!

Wendy Blumfield
Israel Childbirth Education Centre
NCT (UK) Trained Tutor Childbirth Educator/Breastfeeding Counsellor. 

        
--
Phyllis Adamson, BA, IBCLC
Glendale, AZ.
[log in to unmask]

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