Beloved Listmembers,
Long and personal...borderline
rant-cum-philosophizing. Skip as needed...you have
been warned ;)

I work for a large health care organization as a
bedside LC at our BUSY women's hospital.  The LC's are
paid on the same scale as the RN's, despite the fact
that most of us on the team have had 18+ months of
additional schooling, which some of us paid for
ourselves, without tuition reimbursement.  Nor are we
reimbursed for the IBCLC exam fees, yet we are
required to become certified within 2 years of hire.

The budget for the Lactation department is tight.
Unapproved overtime is not paid for.  This is not a
slam on our manager because this is not within her
power to determine.  She is under pressure from above
to stay within budget; I am sure as the economy
continues to rock and roll the board of directors is
seeking ways to trim costs...and Lactation services
are, IMHO, perceived as a luxury, or as borderline
"fluff" by the mucky-mucks who designate where the
money goes.  If Lactation services in a clinical
setting were truly seen as vital to quality patient
care, we would have adequate staffing with an on-call
system in place to cover sick calls, LE's working on
the floors to triage EVERY SINGLE breastfeeding dyad,
and our overtime would be PAID.  Not to mention
establishing a follow-up outpatient clinic, or at
least staff designated to make follow-up phone calls.
Not to mention another full-time LC for the NICU.  The
list goes on.

Enough of my dreams.  On a personal note, I have young
children who go to bed early (bless their pointed
little heads!).  Every half hour I spend at work after
my designated sign-out time is time I could be
spending with them (or sitting in traffic; just
kidding, sort of).  I decided recently that time with
family was vastly more important than extra time at
work, particularly if the corporation I work for
doesn't even have the decency to offer straight time
pay beyond my 8 hour shift, let alone time and a half.
 Sometimes it is tough to structure the afternoon in a
way that will get me out on time, but there is plenty
to do (tidying and stocking the outpatient room,
triaging with the bedside RN's for dyads to be seen
next day, etc.).

This was a hard decision to make, from a professional
standpoint.  There is *always* the temptation to try
to squeeze in one more consultation at the end of the
day.  I had to begin thinking of the work that I love
within the larger context of my life. I am truly
blessed and honored to be working in Lactation, but to
hear my little ones joyfully shreiking, "MAMA!!" when
I pull up in front of the house at the end of a
workday...nothing else even comes close!  No amount of
pay would be worth missing time with them (although
time and a half might entice me occasionally...)

Carole


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