When we were doing labeling for our conference mailing recently, my co-labeler and I were very surprised at an observation we made. We had labels for the states of PA, VA, MD, NJ, WV, and NJ from both ILCA and IBLCE. (Also NY and OH from ILCA) In order to try and save postage costs, we tried to eliminate the duplication on the two sets. There were many more names on the IBLCE list than on the ILCA list--leading to the implication that there are more than a couple IBCLC's who have not joined their professional organization. While I realize that there are a multitude of reasons that someone may choose to not join ILCA, I, for one, gain a lot of information from the JHL, even the Globe, and of course the mailing lists that my name gets on by virtue of my membership! I am resitting boards this summer under the research pathway-- in order to qualify for that pathway, I had to document my number of clinical mother/baby contact hours, as well as cont. ed hours. What there was no question for was the number of hours I have spent attending coalition meetings or what professional organizations do I belong to or how many hours spent reading lactnet!!! I wonder if there should be some sort of component of documenting lc/lc contact hours included on the recertification and even the beginning to become an LC process (mentoring in that case.) My contacts with my colleagues in my coalition has been worth a lot more than some conference sessions I have attended, and this forum of dialogue worth more than its weight in gold. If an LC doesn't keep current, and to me the easiest way to do that is by information sharing and information coming to the door, how can s/he maintain a level of professionalism/competency? We can have all the credentials in the world and still be worthless if we don't keep ourselves mentally stimulated, by being interested in new findings and observations, and by not being afraid to admit we don't know. This LACTNET group by far has the best opportunities to prevent ourselves from going stale; it's is a great way of being challenged by all the wonderful sharing that flows so readily between one another. The LC who is in her/his own space, with no influx of information and no collegial sharing is, in my opinion, not going to be offering the best LC services to her/his clients. Karen's Fun Lactation Stuff: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/2621