Melinda, not all non-nursing IBCLCs have this belief, so don't generalize about us, just as you objected to being incorrectly generalized about. I do part of my work in a medical school based maternity clinic. I have seen how much the nurses train the residents just by being there day by day and knowing what nurses know from both school and experience. They are the ones right there with the residents when something is happening. The attendings just consult with students and residents later, for the most part. I also meet occasionally with hospital based IBCLCs/RNs to coordinate what they are doing with WIC policies and programs. I think that working closely with another profession is the only way to understand each other and to appreciate what we all do. Pam writes: "The only thing I can come up with is that in a hospital setting, a nurse is not allowed to contradict an order. It doesn't matter what the order is, she follows it. Yes, yes, it is not true, she is supposed to refuse, but realistically that is not the work world and she will be unemployed or whatever if she doesn't go along with the status quo." This statement helps me understand non-nursing IBCLCs a little better, if this is really what you think it is like in a hospital setting. That is NOT what it is like---nurses question doctors all the time, without any fear of losing their jobs. We do NOT blindly follow orders. We would lose our licenses if we did. I would not say that we go in and tell the patients to ignore what their doctors have said and flatly contradict them, but we do have the freedom to give patients information so that the PATIENTS can also question the doctor about their options. If done in a tactful and respectful way, most physicians value our input. Melinda Lueck, RN, BSN, IBCLC *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html Mail all commands to [log in to unmask] To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask]) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask]) To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]