Barbara-
     I, for one, am glad that you've been obsessing over the IBCLE issue.  I
agree that the requirements should be a bit more specific and cover specific
areas.  I'm not sure about reducing the hours, but fewer actual, high
quality, clinically supervised hours would certainly beat more (and possibly
exaggerated), unsupervised, single source/situation hours. Identifying
mentors is also a good idea, and we need to establish criteria for them. We
still need to find a way to meet the needs of our international colleagues.
 Will there be enough mentors available in Zimbabwe?  Or some sections of
Brazil?  Or are there other alternatives....Perhaps in areas where mentors
are not available, the number of hours could increase and there could be a
telephothink you hear and what you see can be worlds apart....
    Let's keep brainstorming!
     Debi Page Ferrarello, RN, IBCLC  who did not have a mentor (even after
years of newborn, NICU, and home health maternal/child care) and hereby
apologizes to all the moms and babies she saw in her first year of LC
practice!