So many good comments on this thread and so much insecurity as well.
Rather like the debate within nursing itself about whether nurses with
"only a 2 year degree" should be categorized differently from the BSN (a
4 year degree).

You know what? I have a 2 year nursing degree. I have my IBCLC. Neither
of these automatically makes me better or worse, more perceptive or less
perceptive at what I do. I have far more experience than many BSN's and
far less than many others. But I have a nursing degree. And that makes
me (and me alone!) responsible to be the best I can be, to continue to
increase my knowledge of my area of practice. This goes for my IBCLC as
well. I became certified in 1998. So I'm a newbie and I admit it. And I
am hospital based. I have worked with breastfeeding moms in the hospital
since 1986. So I have a combination of experience levels in this area.
But again, it is MY responsibility to increase my level of knowledge in
this area. I am well aware that I know only the tiniest portion of the
whole picture! And so I constantly refer to LLL and others. And I make
every effort to attend conferences and seminars where people
knowledgeable in the field will be speaking. And I soak up information
on Lactnet. And I attend my state's Lactation Consultant Association
quarterly meetings for the fellowship and educational opportunities. And
I'm learning.

I have a deep appreciation for the fact that we all come from someplace
a little different in our lives. But I say, thank goodness we all came
for the same reason ...to help Moms and babies with this amazing
experience of breastfeeding. So keep sharing all your wonderful
experience with the world. There are a lot of us out here listening.

Sunday morning sermon over. ;-)

Jean Macomber, RN, IBCLC
Jacksonville, Florida, USA

             ***********************************************
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