Amy -- superb communication to the hospital; respectful, factual, specific
to the concerns raised, and (we can hope) eye-opening. Well done.

Since Amy has graciously offered this as a template for others to use,
please, everyone -- cut-and-paste and save this reply.  The next time this
rolls around in your facility, you have some words to give you courage, and
get you started in trying to educate your decision-makers.

Melissa asked in a related note about the ethics of *paying* to attend an
event sponsored by a commercial entity, knowing and accepting that CERPs
would not be awarded.  Was acceptance of the lunch at that session a no-no?
 My take on this:  You PAID to attend a session, which customarily includes
the cost of meals.  You didn't accept a freebie; you **paid for** a session
and a meal.  I'd say you are "safe" with regard to the IBLCE Code of Ethics'
requirement that IBCLCs support and follow the WHO Code.  If you are really
itchy-scratchy/nervous about it, you could simply forego the lunch they
offer ... just as those who are attending the breakfast to which Amy refers
should forego the rubber danish and bring their own luscious bagels.

Of course, there are all sorts of tensions that are legitimately raised --
wholly unrelated to the WHO Code, I might add -- about whether such a
session, marketed and conducted by a commercial company, offering speakers
discussing research done on the company's dime, can be presented without
conflict-of-interest or commercial bias.  That sort of "educational session"
is the type frowned upon by scholars in the field of medical education and
ethics.  See  Lo & Field, a full .pdf from the highly-regarded Institute of
Medicine:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20662118.  Also see the 2009
opinion piece from JAMA by Rothman et al.; that abstract is at
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/301/13/1367.abstract.

Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

-- 
Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

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