I just have to weigh in on this thread.  I think that those who have sat
for and passed the exam and are now earning money ( however small an amount
it may be) are professionals.  To me the term professional refers to
occupation.  It matters not how one came to the profession but that you
meet the criteria and have what ever education ,certification etc that is
required.  A lay counselor is a volunteer, hence makes no income.  Those
with pump rental stations are owners of a business and not necessarily
Lactation consultants unless certified.  I have said it before and I will
say it again - if you are not IBCLC you should call yourself something
other that Lactation Consultant.  I don't care how good or bad you are at
what you do, the term should be reserved for those who have passed the
exam.  I know that there is no law or policy mandating the use of the name
lactation consultant but I feel very strongly about this.  If we are ever
to get the respect and recognition that we deserve as practitioners we need
a more rigorous certification process and protection that only those who
have sat for the exam use the term.  On the other hand, lay counselors and
the support and guidance they provide are invaluable and they too may have
varying levels of education and are invaluable to the cause.  We all have a
role to play but for the sake of the big picture and how those of us who
have choosen this as a profession are viewed there do need to be distinct
titles and levels so to speak.  A nurse who has not taken the exam is not a
lactation consultant. Her profession is nursing and until she has passed
the exam her profession is not Lacation Consultant as I define it. A LLLL
who has not taken the exam even if she knows more than all of us is not a
professional.  Is this train of thought making sense?  This has nothing to
do with how good you are but with the creditials you hold.  We are all
working toward the same goal but down different paths for various reasons.
if you choose not to take the exam or charge for services fine but repect
that there are those of us trying very hard to survive in the professional
world and all the confusion about what an LC really is within our own field
doesn't help one bit.

Stepping down as the air is getting thin up here,

Lori Werrell, IBCLC
Leonardtown, MD
Who had soooo much fun chasing her two year old around the theater thi
afternoon while taking the other two kids to see Mulan.