All these ideas flying around are so stimulating (and I have to work the
next morning!). I have a question about how other "new" health
professions started, like physiotherapy or dieticians. What happened
before they were established as separate streams? Or are they completely
separate streams in the USA? In Israel, for example, physiotherapists
study most of their first year with first year bachelor's degree nursing
students, their 2nd and 3rd year they are separate, then the 4th year
again much of their studies are with the nursing students. Is this how it
works in other countries?
I was very interested in the proposal that eventually there be a
university "major" in "lactation science", and think that it's
inevitable. I hope I'm around for it! I would imagine, though, that it
would be difficult to establish right off the bat as a separate entity.
What should it be under the aegis of (pardon the truly rotten English,
I'm too excited to keep to the rules now :+  ): psychology for the
counselling, nursing for the obvious, how about anthropology? We wear so
very many hats! OK, OK, I know I'm pushing it. Judy Knopf :-)

BTW, in Israel, the path to an MD is quite different than in the States.
We are modelled on the English system (well, they ran the place from 1917
to 1947!), with kids going into med school either after high school or
after the army, and med school is 6 years. Some time ago, I was working
in the Dean of the Medical School's office and got an inguinal hernia (I
picked up my hefty 3 year old wrong and pop!). I knew the faces of quite
a few of the students, so was quite startled during the hernia repair,
local anesthetic, when a 4th year med student was told to sew me up. Did
a great job, too. That long and somewhat dumb story was a reminder about
how in different countries things are done differently sometimes.....
Over there in England, can someone tell me if a 4th year med student
would be allowed to close a complicated, not simple, inguinal hernia?
Just curious.