Pamela has brought up some excellent points on the problems we are seeing
due to the "hospital centered" nature of many of our new IBCLCs.

(Up front I admit bias due to my own history as a Social Worker and a La
Leche League Leader FIRST before being an IBCLC...)

How we help these IBCLCs in more my concern - what can IBLCE and ILCA do to:

1. Let IBCLCs know that they MUST go outside their "comfort zone" in order
to maintain their qualifications as IBCLCs.  Passing the test is only the
BEGINNING of being a professional IBCLC.  

2. Continue to promote the Clinical Competencies - and, just as hospitals
have checklists to review their policies (The BFHI Assessment or the one we
have in our on-line toolkit to implement hospital policies at
http://cdph.ca.gov/Breastfeeding), IBCLCs could have checklists to assist
them in identifying their needs.  Too often I see the hospital nurses attend
the SAME conferences with the SAME information - they should be attending La
Leche League or dietitian or social work or health education conferences to
increase their skills, not just reinforce what they already know!

3. Provide evidence of "going outside their specialty" as part of their
IBCLC renewal - hospital nurses must attend postpartum or La Leche League
classes, follow-up/private practice/WIC IBCLCs should spend some time in
postpartum and NICU.

I've learned that if there are no "requirements" ... many never do "the next
step" in terms of education.  Of course Lactnetters ALREADY are doing this -
but we can't assume that most IBCLCs are like Lactnetters!  

Have you noticed that people who attend conferences on multiple days
"expect" to sit with the same people they work with and sit at the same
table every day?  One recommendation I give to coordinators of programs (but
only one has taken me up so far) is STRONGLY ENCOURAGING that people who
attend conferences sit with a specialty other than their own - it's amazing
what you can learn at lunchtime or in breaks!  We handed out colored
stickers to the different specialties and encouraged them to "make a
rainbow" at their table.    

Of course sometimes the conference is related to working out issues at your
own agency - then it makes sense to sit together - but many times we could
gain so much by sitting with strangers who are working in something totally
different from what we do!  

...just some thoughts...

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC - getting my body ready for the 3
hour time change by getting up at 4:30 AM....
California, USA

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