SInce I teach classes to the community and to HCPs, I'm finding this thread
quite interesting.  I have to keep in mind that I often have a great
mixture of people in my childbirth and breastfeeding classes, from the mom
or dad with a PhD in astrophysics to the high school dropout.  They are
also a melting pot, due to our close proximity to Kansas State University
and Fort Riley.  For any community classes I do, I still have handouts and
they are very simple.  I also keep my references on hand as I occasionally
get some asking for more information on a particular subject (info on
birthing over an intact perineum is a popular topic).

For health care professionals, I most definitely use handouts and copious
references.   They are required if you are doing a program for continuing
education credit for the various disciplines and establish credibility in
regards to what you are presenting.  I am always referring to the handouts
I have received from previous conferences.  I file them away as I do
lactnet posts (Pat Gima's yeast trreatment plan is my personal favorite)
and articles.  I file them alphabetically under topics.  I also have a
notebook of my most used topics listed on sticky notes for quick referral.
Having new editions of Riordan and Auerbach, Lawrence and Hale and the BF
answer book on hand is helpful, but they are not all inclusive.

On my computer, I also save pertinent posts (like Pat Gima's yeast
treatment plan) and I bookmark pertinent sites on my internet browser (like
Cindy's website, which has info on fenugreek and Jack Newman's handouts).
I also have sites for literature searches bookmarked (like Medline and
CINAHL).

None of this information is going to be helpful if it is not at your
fingertips.  DO I HAVE PILES-oh yes, do I have piles!  But I make a point
to go through them each time I process payroll.  That's my reminder to get
things organized and filed and that is every two weeks.  That way, the task
of filing is not so unmanageble.

Maurenne Griese, RNC, BSN,CCE, CBE
Manhattan, KS  USA