I just returned from a Perinatal Health Conference. While there I spent some
time with someone who is interested in becoming an  IBCLC, and is compiling
her education and counseling hours with the goal of taking the exam in a few
years. She teaches bfing classes and does couseling as part of her job in a
nearby hospital. She calls me and refers Moms to me in more difficult
situations. She is tracking  her hours and is doing about 10 hrs /week in
bfing counseling. She is trying to do all the things correctly  to become an
IBCLC and she has asked for my help many times. Someone overheard our
conversation about counting up the bfing counseling hrs and said that a L & D
nurse at another large hospital recently sat for the exam. This nurse has
never  had any contact with me ( the only IBCLC in practice here). I was
surprised and asked how she got her counseling hrs so quickly and was told
that she counted her work hrs. The other person then asked if she could just
count her job hrs as a nurse, even though they are not all spent in
counseling. I said I didn't think so, I thought the hrs must be bfing
counseling. I don't see how a L & D nurse can count 40 hrs/ week as bfing
counseling.
So my question is: Do nurses get to count all their work hrs? Or just the hrs
spent in bfing counseling? Who checks on this?

Barbara Whitehead, IBCLC
Ayden NC

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