everything has a price. i spent almost $10,000 of my own money (my own credit cards, to tell the truth) to be able to sit the exam. quite a gamble, some might say. i haven't made near that much this year, either. but it was worth it to me because it was what i wanted to do. and when i went to the ilca conference, it dawned on me that almost everyone that was there was on their employer's dime. there have been various costs to my family, one of which is no family vacation for the last two years; i spent the money going to florida without them. so no complaining about not having the money. and if you do not work in a job where you get enough experience to sit the exam, your motivation to do this work should involve getting the job that provides the experience, or the volunteer job. yes, even volunteer work. apparently LLLL pass the exam more successfully or with higher scores than other candidates. what does that tell you about the value of that volunteer experience? i have posted before about this, and i firmly feel that if there an institution or person passes someone off as a "lactation consultant" and that person is not a board certified LC, then there is an element of fraud involved in having the non-certified person provide care (unless they are clearly identified as a volunteer, such as LLLL, for example). just because consumers do not yet know the difference does not mean it is okay to fool them. i give all my patients a handout which tells about me and my practice and the very first thing i mention is what IBCLC means. when i spend an hour with a woman and she turns to me and says " what qualifications do you have to have to do this, do you have to study or something?" that doesn't mean that she doesn't value my profession, it just means that she doesn't know. and that she is desperate enough to seek my help without knowing whether i have qualifications or not. and the problem of knowing that other IBCLCs give out crummy advice is one that bothers me a great deal, but i haven't got a solution for it yet. we just have to continue to upgrade the quality of what we provide, and increase what we all know. and no, being a nurse is not necessary. i can learn everything i need to know. so can someone else. and the difference between being board certified and non board certified is clear. there aren't any "almost doctors" that have different initials but can practice medicine. and whenever i heard the term "lactation nurse" i just want to scream. does that mean wet nurse? will she come around and lactate for you? unfortunately what it usually means is that the hospital won't hire a "real" LC and has a nurse designated to do the job, whose training is unclear. it doesn't mean that persons who are IBCLC are denigrating non-IBCLC. you are just still in the process, so to speak. and barbara is entirely right when she points out that this is not a personal issue. this is a professional issue. if i want to be a doctor, but don't want to spend the time it takes to go to medical school, am i allowed to moan about not getting to be a doctor? i think not. carol brussel IBCLC still not a nurse in denver, CO, expecting winter to return - but for just a minute or two *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html