Hi all, Coach Smith here to comment on "OJT." 

On the Job Training (OJT) is meant to polish off what was already learned in school, practicums, and other formalized learning experiences.  Of course the sum total of what an RN needs to know can't be learned ON that job. Neither can the sum total of what an LC needs to know be learned ON that job. 

OJT is "quick and dirty" learning on the simplest of tasks, with no expectation of understanding of the larger issues involved. For example, last weekend I got OJT in driving our new ride-on lawn mower/tractor. Now I can start it and steer it around the yard, and the results were "satisfactory." However, this OJT did not qualify me to repair the engine, sharpen the blades, comment on the best type of grass seed for the shady areas, or develop a plan to fix the bare spots caused by insect damage.  

An LC and an RN are far, far more than technicians needing just a little OJT! The more complex the job, the more training/education is involved. For example, salespeople for one kind of industrial cleaning cloth get 6 weeks training in their product. Imagine that - 6 weeks of full-time learning just to sell rags!  Yet the company insists on the training because - ready for this? - it MATTERS in sales of their products.  (hint: there's a lesson here.) 

Hats off to all the nurses, doctors, pharmacists, accountants, midwives, teachers, social workers, engineers, attorneys, theologians, mothers, anthropologists, assorted therapists, gym teachers (AND etc) who have entered the LC field. This adds to the richness of our work. And does not detract one smidgen from all the professions and individuals who ALSO assist the mother-baby breastfeeding dyad. The solution may be OJT - but only AFTER formal and informal study of breastfeeding in all its complexity.

Linda Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre, Dayton OH
http://www.bflrc.com/bflrc.htm