Marie Biancuzzo says,

<< If I recall correctly, until recently your educational program awarded
 certification, and I'm assuming that your strong feelings may have been the
 impetus for BSE to discontinue this. Feel free to publicaly flog me if my
 memory serves me incorrectly, or if I read too much into your post.>>

Jan replies:  Well, it depends on your definition of "recently."  (That's my
Clintonesque statement for the night.).  It is BSC, not BSE, BTW -- and we
stopped offering certification in 1993, as soon as ILCA came out with its
statement that they (ILCA) stood behind the IBCLC as the only recognized
certification for lactation consultants.  (I'm not quoting it directly, but
that's the gist of it).  And lest you think that I was angry when ILCA said
that, let me quickly reassure you that I was Past President at the time, on
the ILCA board, and was in full agreement with the decision.  And when I told
the Executive Directors of BSC of ILCA's decision it was THEIR decision (not
mine) to work in concert with ILCA, and thus stopped offering the
certification.  No, it was not MY strong feelings that determined we would
stop.  Furthermore, the program that BSC had that offered certification was a
300+ hour distance education program -- it wasn't our 6 day program which
didn't begin until 1995.

<< But my
 question is: Do you feel that *not* offering such recognition has been (or
 will be) ultimately beneficial, either to the education program, or to the
 public? Otherwise stated, is *no* recognition ultimately more beneficial
 than *some* kind of recognition? >>

Oh I think that offering certification is definitely beneficial to the
educational program -- or the people that offer it.  There's no question
about the fact that it's a terrific marketing tool.  I'm not that stupid that
I don't see that.  Because there are LC Wannabe's that don't understand the
difference between the IBCLC and a CXX, the educational program that promises
a CXX will be attended far more quickly than a program that does not offer
certification.  (And BSC is not the only program that does not offer
certification.  There are several others as well).  I do not believe it is
beneficial for the LC Wannabe or for the public.

Unfortunately, many of those that receive a CXX then assume that that is ALL
they need, and do not go on, despite the fact that they have no more
expertise/education than anyone else that has attended an educational program
that does not offer certification.  It would be nice to have all the
educational programs on the same level playing field, with the LC Wannabe
choosing the program on the basis of quality, price, location, instructors,
and content, rather than on the intials that come after the program.  I'm
sure BSC could be far more competitive if they offered a CXX, but as I said,
years ago they decided to wholly support the IBCLC credential as THE
credential for practicing lactation consultants.

I think Barbara's post was quite eloquent on this entire issue. (Though I'm
not sure I agree that the field is going to go the direction of just medical
professionals.  I too see much value in having people from all professions in
our "own" profession.  I wold hate to lose someone with Barbara's, or Maureen
Minchin's, or Mary Rose Tully's, or Kathy Auerbach's stature -- to name just
a few.  I said in a previous post that it would be nice if there were some
sort of "title" that folks could have that have completed a lactation
management course -- similar to "graduate nurse" -- while they are accruing
their experience hours to sit for the board exam.  I recognize that people
WANT titles.  They want to be called something.   It seems to me that calling
someone "certified" who has completed an educational program is doing our
profession an injustice.  While there are many educational paths to -- we'll
take nursing, for example -- you can go to a diploma school for 3 years, or
back in the dim dark past, for 2 years.  You can go to a 4 year BSN program.
You can go to a 2 year AD program.  But what tells everyone that you can
practice as a NURSE?  The fact that you become licensed by sitting board
exams, and then registered with the state.  If you are a BSN, but not an RN,
I don't want you taking care of me.  You might be a wonderful, knowledgeable
person, you might have graduated from college (or you might have gotten your
BSN off a matchbox cover) but I don't know that you were able to go that
final mile to qualify and pass the boards -- and if you aren't licensed, and
you aren't registered, to whom are you accountable?

I certainly have no objection to some sort of recognition of education.  I do
not believe that awarding "certification" to someone who has completed 5 or 6
or 20 or 40 days of an educational program is appropriate.

And to Theresa, while I understand the concern about the financial aspect of
taking the exam, in any profession that one wants to enter, there are
financial commitments that have to be made -- whether it is college
education, apprenticeship, board exams. It is part of becoming a
professional.  When I became an RN, I had to pay for my own board exams.  My
employer did not pay for them.  When my daughter sat for her RN boards, she
paid for them -- neither her employer NOR her mother paid for them.

Let's say I was going to refer a client of mine who was moving across the
country, and I want her in the hands of a good lactation consultant because
she's had problems breastfeeding.  I pick up the ILCA directory, and I look
through the names of the people who accept referrals in her new local.  And I
see these assortment of intials:  Mary Jones, IBCLC.  Susan James, CLC, Jane
Doe, CLE, Judy Thompson, CLS, Linda Johnson, CBE.  (These do not refer to any
real people living or dead).  I don't know any of them.  Of all these people,
however, the only one I immediately know ANYTHING about is Mary Jones.  I
know that she has at least 30 hours of lactation education, and that she has
completed at least 2500 hours of breastfeeding consultancy, and that she has
passed the IBLCE exam.  She may be excellent, she may be dreadful, she may be
mediocre -- but I already know a lot more about her than I do anyone else.
So to whom am I going to refer my client when all I have to go on is the
initials I see?

Time for me to go check and see how Ezzo is faring in the UK....

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC

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