>> My understanding of the IBCLE requirements to sit the exam leads me
to
believe that a person could have 2500 hours or 4000 hours of telephone
counselling, and have taken 30 hours of continuing education and sit the
exam, without ever having worked clinically.
So one could be certified without having seen lots of latches.....
Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CSTP<<
Hi Nikki,
As an LLLL who will be sitting for the exam soon, I've given lots of
thought to this issue. In 9 1/2 years in LLL, my hands-on knowledge (as
opposed to phone-helping or pictures in books) of latch has come
primarily from 1) my personal nursing experiences, and 2) working with
nursing mothers at our monthly meetings. I've also done home visits, but
these are an optional activity for leaders. So I see a lot more older
babies and 'normal' situations, as opposed to a hospital LC who sees more
newborns and ill babies.
I personally don't know of a situation where one could have 2500 or
4000 hours without seeing plenty of moms and babies face-to-face. In
LLL, at least, leading meetings is a basic responsibility and thus a
significant percentage of our counseling is in person and not just on the
phone. And I've always assumed that the LC's who answer questions on the
local Breastfeeding Center help lines also see plenty of patients in
person.
I think we all have strengths and weaknesses in our breastfeeding
expertise. I help a mother when I have the knowledge and expertise to do
so, and hopefully know enough to refer her to the appropriate person when
her problem is outside my scope of knowledge.
I definitely feel that my theoretical knowledge (I'm a voracious
reader, and have had a lot of continuing education) is up to snuff, and
I'm fairly confident that I can pass the exam. But I do wish there were
opportunities for me to gain more experience with premies and unusual bf
situations, rather than take yet another CE course that covers lots of
basics that I already know well. Are they out there, and I'm just
unaware?
I hope to hear some more opinions on this -
Marcia McCoy
in Minnesota
***********************************************
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
|
