Barbara says:
<<45 hours of lactation specific education are required to sit the exam.
Think about this. 45 clock hours is required to prepare for a career.
There are no requirements as to the content of these 45 hours.
Theoretically, it could be 45 hours of basic positioning and latch, and the
applicant would have met the requirement. How many clock hours do other
people spend in classrooms preparing for their careers? At the present
time, these hours are not even required to be CERPs (although it is strongly
recommended), which would guarantee at least a certain level of quality and
relatively valid subject matter. What happens is that most people
accumulate their hours, rush off to take the "lactation consultant course"
which through clever marketing and hospital administration pressure seems to
have become a "requirement" to sit the exam -it is NOT--, which gives you 45
CERPs, and voila you are eligible to sit the exam. >>
But Barbara, whose decision was this? I've been on the IBLCE board and
pleaded that a course that followed the exam grid be REQUIRED and that at least
1/2 to 2/3 of the breastfeeding consultancy hours be obtained AFTER the course
was taken. But my pleas fell on deaf ears.
One of the other problems I see is that ANYONE can "certify." The term
"certifed" dingle doodle has basically lost meaning. I can offer a 4 hour course
in writing objectives, for example, and then proclaim at the end of the four
hours that VOILA -- you are now a certified objective writer.
So perhaps one of the solutions would be for all courses of 45 hours or more
deem their "graduates" a "certified dingle doodle". Then IBLCE could begin
to look at more stringent requirements to be an IBCLC -- perhaps a 45 hour
course PLUS completion of competencies under the auspices of an experienced
IBCLC to qualify to sit the exam.
Human nature being what it is, we are bound to take the path of least
resistance. And if I, as an RN, can count all the hours I've spent with
breastfeeding mothers and babies since 1972 (the year I first started in OB), go to a
few conferences and do a few ISMs to get my 45 hours -- then I'll do it. I'm
a good test taker and I'll pass the exam. Doesn't mean that I'm a competent
-- or even good -- IBCLC. And I can still give dreadful information to
mothers. But hey -- for me, it was a piece of cake.
I would love to see the basic requirement be a minimum of an associates
degree in lactation consulting. But I've said this before, and I'll say it again
-- until there are enough people who see this credential as something other
than an "add on" or something to do after I've raised my kids because
breastfeeding is neat, then there won't be enough to support a college program.
Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC, Wheaton IL
_www.lactationeducationconsultants.com_
(http://www.lactationeducationconsultants.com/)
"I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there
isn't, than live my life as though there isn't, and die to find out there
is." - Pascal
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
