natalie,
I assume you have contacted the IBLCE for information and advice. You can
find them easily on the internet, I believe it is www.iblce.org
yes, you have a shot....but in my opinion you really really need the hands
on experience.
I seem to remember hearing that LLL leaders were 'credited' (for lack of a
better word) w/ 500 counseling hours/yr unless you could document from your
logs more hours. So if you became a leader in Oct 2000, you could have over
1500 hrs by the time you were ready to apply. I am not sure about the
internet counseling and how that could even be documented or if it is
acceptable as consultancy hours. However, 4 questions a day would add maybe
1/2 to 1 hr per day? That would be about 176-352 hrs, not much. It seems you
could qualify under pathway B as far as your university education, and you
certainly need to be able to document your cont. educ. hours. You can also
reduce your practice hours if you take a single comprehensive lactation
course of 150 hrs or more, by my interpretation of the iblce brochure I
have. Also if you have 100+ hrs of specific supervised lactation practice in
a lact. program. But I am not sure how much this reduces your hours. Again,
IBLCE could advise you. You need to begin to search out some of these
excellent programs and also look for where you could find some hands on
opportunities. Our archives are ripe with such information, for example WIC
programs, and others. Good luck. I believe you have til May 2004 to apply
for the July 2004 exam. Example, if you worked with someone 3x/wk for 4 hrs,
that would give you an additional 624 hrs/yr. Let's say all your hours were
accepted at 1500 or more LLL + 624 + 352 internet = 2476 hrs. If you
finished your undergrad degree, if possible, you would be close to the 2500
hrs, assuming all your hours above were accepted.
Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
New Orleans Louisiana, s.e. USA




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