Would you believe - my computer did send the message without even asking
for my permission ;D
Anyhow, beow is the intended message
Alla
On 8/11/2014 1:36 AM, Jennifer Tow, IBCLC wrote:
> Enough is enough with the absurd retaking of exams. I think what has always troubled me is that you can ever lose a credential that you acquired through education. I have always said the IBCLC should be for life, while the RLC should mean that you have maintained your registration. A doctor does not lose her MD bc she retires, but she does give up her license. The same is true for RNs and every other credential I can think of. Passing that test should mean you are an IBCLC. Period. Ongoing education (which I think needs to be better supervised and more rigorous) should mean you maintain the RLC. One's knowledge does not disappear bc she wants to move into education or research or volunteer work. How is it that someone at 75 must take a test to maintain a credential she earned 25 or 30 years earlier?
This discussion is raising several very important questions.
First and foremost - is IBCLC designation a life-time credential (as RN,
MD, PhD and so on) or it is a verification of certain level of
credentialing (like FAAP, FABM and so on)?
Understanding that IBCLC stands for International /*BOARD CERTIFIED*/
Lactation Consultant, the need for continued /*certification*/ by the
appropriate board becomes more then obvious.
So while I do not have to re-certify as an MD (actually I had to do that
after coming to the US 25 years ago, but that is another story), I do
have to re-certify every 5 years (not just getting 50 CME's per year,
but jumping through stupid, expensive, meaningless, bureaucratic,
etc,etc, etc, hoops called Maintenance Of Certification) and take my
written Boards every 10. Doctors who have several certifications have
to jump through the multiple "boarding" hoops (i.e. my medical school
classmate who is a geriatrician with specialization in palliative care
has to regularly take her internal medicine boards, geriatric boards and
palliative care boards).
Secondly - the value of closed book exam as a mean of re-certification.
It is well known that closed books exams are not that efficient.
Re-certification should be about the ability to find information rather
then about the ability to mechanically memorize some random facts. We
(those who were re-certified in pediatrics in 2001-2002) still fondly
recall truly positive education experience of open book exam we took
that year. But unfortunately ABP (American Board of Pediatrics) is back
to the closed book exam with all its negative factors.
And lastly - re the emeritus status. I do agree with its (dictionary)
value/**//*"*//*(of the former holder of an office, especially a college
professor) having retired but allowed to retain their title as an
honor.*//*"*/ For those who want to be still in practice - it is a
different story. We (at least in pediatrics) do have the
"grandfathering" system, when those, who were board certified before
1984(?) are not required to sit for the exam in order to remain in
practice. But the ABP does list them as... non-current on their Board
requirements. I was Board certified in pediatrics in 1995 and therefore
I am not eligible for any grandfathering (or grandmothering for that
matter). In order to continue to practice as a physician I have to be
current not only on my 50/year CME's, but also on my board certification
and therefore I am still planning to sit for my 2022 peds and lactation
boards. I am not sure about the 2032 exams though...
Alla
--
Alla Gordina, MD, IBCLC, FAAP
General Pediatrics
Breastfeeding Medicine
Adoption and Foster Care Medicine
Global Pediatrics and Family Medicine
NJ Breastfeeding Medicine Educational Initiative
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