Hello, All: Interesting thread to follow. I keep seeing in all the posts thus far, obvious territorialism. Each poster seems to be saying the route I went is the route to go in achieving credibility. Most seem to agree that some sort of formal education is a must. Why can't a program be developed that includes the rich variety of all backgrounds? The existing program that I feel comes closest is the UCLA Lactation Training Programs. These programs are largely ignored by the lactation community - not sure why. I completed both programs - certified educator and certified consultant way back in the mid '80s and have served as adjunct faculty over the years. The beauty of these programs is that they are based on the medical model, making the philosophy easily understandable to physicians and hospitals. Lactation management is viewed within the framework as a clinical skill for the practicioner. Faculty members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, MD, RN, PT, SLP, RD, etc. Some of these folks also have LLLI backgrounds as well as psych backgrounds, so that counseling skills are included in the curriculum. The educational hours earned are at the master's level, thus allowing the hours to be counted towards a master's degree that one might be pursuing in another area. I am also eternally grateful that even back in the 1980's the UCLA faculty had the foresight to realize that lactation has a strong oral-motor component to it, the importance of which is just now being realized. So, rather than arguing which discipline is "best", I propose we put together an educational program that brings together a faculty who are not only experts in lactation, but experts in their chosen disciplines, including LLLI. Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC Clinical Lead, Lactation Services Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, IL USA *********************************************** 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