I'm jumping into the fray over names.  I agree that we often put too much
emphasis on initials and credentials as though that, alone guarantees
quality.  One of my favorite lines is, "What do you call the guy who
graduated at the bottom of his medical school class?  Doctor"  meaning we
call them all doctor, while some graduated with honors and some barely
passed.  You could argue here, I suppose, that just graduating with mediocre
grades doesn't necessarily mean a person won't be a good doctor.  However, I
know if I were to have a heart attack, I'd want the ER doc who did more than
'just get by' in medical school.  You may flame me for that, but I think it
is generally true for most of us.  Now, imagine if the doc in the ER didn't
graduate at all, just worked as an apprentice, say, and thus learned his
skill. S/he might do well in that specialty, but who's to say? S/he didn't
have to pass any course work or exam, so there is no recognized way of
determining whether s/he really knows what s/he's doing or not.  Nor is
there any way of knowing whether the person s/he learned their skills from
was someone worth emulating.  In other words, maybe they were a quack for
all we know!   So, if you don't have some sort of training and/or testing,
none of us have any way of "judging" how reliable and sound are the skills
of the person offering assistance.  Take, for example, a couple of our
favorite topics on this list, Babywise and the Baby whisperer.  One of the
things we point out about these authors is their lack of credentials to be
advising on the topics they are famous for (just had an article in our
Sunday paper about the baby whisperer.  Yech)  But parents don't know that.
They like what they hear so they buy it.  They want someone to put a formula
to it, to authorize them to do what many of us consider cruel and at least
potentially harmful or useless.

I think the credentials serve a good purpose.  I must.  I've spent the last
25 years of my life pursuing them because I want the credibility they offer
as well as the knowledge.  Experience is part of the credentials, or should
be, just like physicians have to go through residency.  Otherwise, we're all
in a big bubbling pot of advice-giving where some of us may give good
advice, some of us may give horrible advice and how do parents know which is
which?  There is a nurse practitioner in town who gives unfailingly bad
advice, usually damaging to breastfeeding, yet calls herself a 'lactation
consultant'.  Parents believe her even though she has no credentials
whatsoever in lactation!  Why won't she get them since she considers this
part of her job working with babies?  My bet is she knows she wouldn't pass!
Besides, why should she when they are not a requirement for calling yourself
a lactation consultant?

Melisa said, "  .  The difference I think is in that there are some CLC's
out there that have all the knowledge but don't care to or don't have the
time/money/insert argument here... to sit for the exam.  Should they be
penalized for that?"    to which I would say, not penalized for lacking a
credential.  Rather not being recognized for having knowledge and skill they
have not proved they have.  The key word here is "SOME" CLC's.  How do we
know which ones?  Let me quickly add that I think there is room in the
breastfeeding community for all of us and I am happy to have those with
'lesser' credentials (I mean no disrespect.  Please no flames for that!)
work with moms who have run of the mill problems.  If I had to help
everyone, we'd all be sunk because I don't have that kind of time!
We're all members of one body, to borrow from a famous book.  We each have
our place and  contributions to make.

Marsha


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marsha Glass RN, BSN, IBCLC, also former LLLL and mother of 5.
Mothers have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future generations
as all other earthly causes combined.
John S. C. Abbot
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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