Dear Friends:
    Nikki Simmon's post about apprenticeship is  wonderful. Apprenticeship is
the way that people used to learn, before learning  became institutionalized
and regulated, and also before learning an art became  commercialized.
    In many cultures, a healer follows this traditional  way of becoming an
artist. I am using the words art and artist to incorporate  the passion and the
'call' to become. In this tradition, a young person doesn't  want to be a
healer to earn big bucks or gain prestige; they become a healer  because of some
inner drive and passion and some knowledge that being a healer  is part of
their identity. There is also an exchange of energy; the apprentice  gives to the
master as much as the master gives to the student.
    Way different to the people I have met who want to  become doctors to
make lots of money or have power.
    Lactation work is an art as much as it is a  science.
    I apprenticed to a lay midwife for 1 1/2 years and  had some of the same
experiences as Nikki reports: the immersion in a life, the  doing of chores
outside the realm of study, the surrender to the process.  Unfortunately, as a
single mother I couldn't continue as I had to earn  money.
    At least, the lactation profession is not concerned  with people wanting
to enter for monetary purposes, because that isn't relevant!
    warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative

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