Dear Lacnet friends,
Yes, I do think there is a point of ethical concern here. It's like changing the rules during the game.
What bothers me is that changing the prerequisites like this is the message it sends about formerly certified IBCLC's suddenly becoming some kind of less-valued LC's. I was certified in 1992, so have to turn up next year to sit again. If I was not certified and had been helping moms and babies without IBCLC behind my name I would not be accepted on my education degree only. No matter the 20 years of experience (based upon LLL), the educational skills that are so useful in informing mothers and other would be swept aside as worthless. So I can't put in IV's or inject or do CPR or put on bandages on difficult places. Do iI need those skills as LC? No. Neither do I need any of the other wonderful nursing skills nurses have. I don't do nursing, I do lactation counseling in private practice. And I teach IBCLCs to be. Teach. Like in education, my first degree!
Warmly,
Gonneke, IBCLC in PP, LC lecturer in southern Netherlands
Twitter @eurolacpuntnet
>________________________________
>From: Wendy Blumfield <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Sent: Monday, August 8, 2011 9:52 AM
>Subject: nursing degree for lactation counsellors
>
>Is nobody questioning the ethics of moving the goalposts. Over the years, many highly qualified breastfeeding counsellors , trained by their local organizations, have been preparing to study for the IBCLC certificate, a process which I think is the equivalent of taking a "second degree". Those candidates have invested time and money on reading, research and attending study events in their own countries.
>
>And suddenly IBCLC add the requirement that candidates must have a nursing degree.
>From my experience in Israel I would say that every nurse working in the field of maternity health, in hospitals or community clinics, should have IBCLC or equivalent qualifications.
>But that certainly does not mean that a highly motivated candidate, perhaps qualified in other caring professions such as social work, education, etc. should now be excluded from the opportunity to enhance their qualifications.
>
>Breastfeeding, like childbirth education, is not a medical issue. Of course a counsellor needs in-depth knowledge of physiology and mother/infant health. But what makes the difference between a practitioner and a counsellor is empathy, communication, the art of listening. In the training courses that I have co-ordinated, I did not experience a higher level of those qualities in students who were trained nurses.
>
>It`s not just what you know but how you project it!
>
>Wendy Blumfield
>Israel Childbirth Education Centre
>NCT (UK) Trained Tutor Childbirth Educator/Breastfeeding Counsellor.
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