Barbara and everyone else,

YES!  By all means make the list for LC's willing to do a mentoring thing!  It's
good for the profession and it has advantages to both LCs.  If we truely care
about the reputation of IBCLC as a whole, will will see that our students get
the best education and experience they can.  It only makes us all better LCs.

I read and have chosen how I will obtain my practice hours very carefully.  I
want to be sure I get experience in ALL areas.  Unfortunately, not everyone
takes it as seriously as I do.  I have seen people with "book smarts" get their
hours (of course, they only needed 2500 because they had a degree in auto care
or something) and sit for the exam, pass and call me for references!  This just
p---es me off!  I am a student, why is a IBCLC calling me for references that
she has supposedly read in the standard text of the field?!  I understand that
networking is important but what you would call this, I don't know.  I have
since decided against doing the all of the foot work for this person.  Let them
sink or swim....I don't have the certification and won't have for sometime and
feel that this is a direct result of the ridiculous requirements for
certification made to protect and further the careers of "certain" people.  Can
we please look at the requirements for what they are and what they are saying?
Do we really want IBCLCs who only have "entry level knowledge" and can fix our
car at the same time?  I would not be happy with that if I was the mom needing
help!

In my case (since I can speak only for myself) I have open a rental station that
was a huge business loss in the first year and the second proves to be the same
way, am almost finished with my BSC course which was paid for by me and I am
doing great in if I do say so myself, doing consults for practice hours that
typically have me traveling 10 and 60 miles to do (clients in preceptored hours
I am doing for free but all home visits and moms in my office I charge a small
fee) to pay for gas and sitters.  I have to charge something or I will be taking
endless amounts of money away from my family that I cannot afford, even though I
hear you are not supposed to paid unless you are IBCLC.  I am going broke!  For
the record, I have no problem referring clients that are beyond my training to
an IBCLC (good one not that other one).  My husband is angry and views the
certification as a sort of scam or something.  I have little defense for his
arguement because there are so little benefits to certification that seem to
make the struggle worth it.  Maybe I am way off here but that's my situation.  I
will likely become certified unless my husband insists that I not proceed (may
happen) but only for personal satisfaction

It is not my intention to come off as a rebel or whatever.  I simply thing that
there is too much talk about things that don't matter and not enough about
things that can help LCs in education, certification, recertification and in day
to day practice no matter where that may be and regardless of where they are
coming from.

I think that the Medela rep. (I'm sorry, I can't remeber his name) was onto
something when he said about national organizations who will show public support
for issues when we need it is a wonderful idea.  If that is what ILCA is about,
then I need to write to them about what they are doing in this and other matters
I am on the box about.  I wonder if it will be discounted because I am not
IBCLC?  Be honest, it happens!

Melissa Brancho
Mom of four, BSC student and IBCLC hopeful for 1998!