************************************************************************* Can anyone share some ideas of what is important to tell dietetic interns in a brief inservice? The current outline is used for student nurses, med students and RD students but I'd like to do something creative and specific to each discipline. Thanks in advance for any help, Mary Kay Smith, RN, IBCLC Canton MI USA *************************************************************************** I work with dietetic interns all the time. It is extremely important to impress upon them their role in promoting breastfeeding. The American Dietetic Association has a very strong position statement on Promoting & Supporting Breastfeeding in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Dietietic Association (Vol 106, No. 5), so we do have support from our professional organization. There are different ways the dietitian can support breastfeeding, depending on where they are. They need to understand the process of lactation, and the mechanics of breastfeeding, so that they can spot problems and refer to lactation consultants. They relate to how the nutritional content of breastmilk changes throughout lactation and even during a specific feeding. They should realize that breastfeeding and breastmilk feeding is not an exact science. Dietitians are "numbers" people and it bothers them when they cannot report the exact nutritional intake a baby receives when at the breast, so keep that in mind. The big thing is to have them understand that the process is at least as important as the product. If they work in prenatal settings or birthing hospitals vs. children's hospitals or pediatric settings, their approach to breastfeeding will be different. I think we need to impress upon them that breastfeeding is certainly more than "feeding" and have them think of the breastfeeding couplet as a whole rather than trying to look at just the mother or just the baby. We need to teach them how to encourage mothers to begin breastfeeding and ways to overcome obstacles to exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life (and avoiding ABM for the full first year). Also, it may be wise to make dietetic interns aware of how ABM companies influence mothers so that they can be prepared to know how to handle that. The "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding" has been helpful to me working with dietetic interns too. I am so happy you asked this question. I am very passionate about getting the dietetic profession educated about breastfeeding and lactation, and more RDs in the perinatal and pediatric fields must help in our efforts to reach the current breastfeeding goals. I urge all of you in education to please include dietitians and dietetic interns in your lactation education classes!! Ask the internship director to include breastfeeding in their interns' rotations. Invite the staff dietitians (or at least the one that works in the perinatal/pediatric areas) to attend your breastfeeding classes. With education, dietitians can really help us in our mission. Good Luck! Ginger Ginger Carney, RD, LDN, IBCLC Clinical Nutriiton Mgr./Lactation Consultant Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center Memphis, TN [log in to unmask] *********************************************** 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