I am a clinical instructor of nursing students and our school has contracts
(approved by the school attorney) with each health care facility where our
students give care under instructor supervision. The contracts clearly spell
out what can/can't be done there, to whom and by whom, and with what level
of supervision (for instance, an instructor must be present in the room
observing when a student performs an invasive procedure). We also send
students for strictly observational experiences when an instructor can't be
present, for ex. observing at the health dept or a doctor's office. We
stress that those are not situations where students can give nursing care,
only observe the care given  by the licensed professional. Given client
confidentiality, and our incredibly litigious society, it is understandable
that a health care provider can't just bring along their private "student"
without prior approval from the facility, even just to observe.
I acknowledge that it is frustrating to have limited opportunities for a
mentoring relationship with an experienced LC, but I couldn't take one of my
nursing students with me to work, even at the same facility where I teach,
if it wasn't a school/facility sanctioned situation. I would think that
seeing a client in your office or their home would be a different thing
altogether, but I would certainly get permission from the client (written)
first. Health care facilities are a whole other can of worms, and I wouldn't
take the refusal personally.

Mary Alice Phillips, BSN, IBCLC
Wamego, Kansas, USA