<<I would like to put something out there that to me is incredibly
important.
I've read the materials. I've got Lawrence on the brain, I have all the
books that should be on my shelves. What I have found nearly impossible to
get is the hours to sit the IBCLC exam. In order to get the experience in
dealing with mothers, there has to be mentorship with sound IBCLC's, of
which I have found few to none that allow that kind of mentorship.>>
And I will second this...the IBCLC's that are currently certified do not,
will not or cannot mentor student LC's. It is virtually impossible to get
the necessary hours. Every IBCLC I have spoken with, hospital based or
private practice, even WIC, has said no to mentoring me. Why? Hospital
regulations, HIPPA regs, liability, takes too much time from their busy
schedule...you name it.
It seems to me, and I may rustle some feathers here, that it easy for the
'powers to be' to state that mentoring is important and needs to be a
requirement to sit the exam, yet when push comes to shove, no one wants to
do the mentoring! This seems just a bit unfair to those of us struggling to
obtain those precious hours so that we can do right by the clients we will
serve by actually having the proper training. I believe that until IBCLC's
in the profession start making a concerted effort to mentor the up and
coming cadre of IBCLC wannabe's you wont see the level of professionalism
and expertise that is so highly sought after.
Also-in regards to the statement that the minimum for sitting the exam
should be an associates degree in lactation consulting...and that people who
decide to become LC's after raising their children because breastfeeding is
neat-I feel is a slap in the face to all the LLL Leaders who cannot take
college courses while their children are young and yet have a wealth of
experience and knowledge to share. Are we to be penalized because we took a
different path to LC-hood? Are we going to lose the unique perspective
that LLL brings to the profession? If I am correct, LLL started the IBCLC
profession way back 20 years ago...lets not lose that vital connection and
make lactation consulting a complete medical degree devoid of any counseling
and mothering experience.
I have experience with older nurslings, tandem nursing, mastitis in a mother
of a 3 year old, etc...that few RN's working L&D will have. But I don't
have the experience in a hospital with newborns and premature babies that I
need...because I cannot find anyone willing to mentor me. I have plenty of
book knowledge, I can quote Lawrence and Riordan, but I desperately need
hands-on experience. I can do home visits all day long, but without a
qualified mentor to shadow me, how do I know if I am doing it correctly?
What is wrong with this picture?
Sweet Nursings,
Robyn Roche-Paull
LLL San Diego & Maternal Child Health student
*************************************
Mom to Morgan (9) Siobhan (6) Tiernan (2)
Proud Military Wife to Stephen (11 years)
*************************************
Breastfeeding: An American Family Value
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
