Mary Kay says,

<<  If other non-licensed staff can
 give advice and touch patients, we should be able to as well.
 Keep us updated, please >>

In hospitals and other situations there are LOTS of non-licensed/non-certified
personnel who touch people by virtue of their job description.  I can think of
nurses' aides, patient care technicians, non-health professionals who provide
CPR, swimming instructors, child care workers, etc etc etc.  I do not think
(this is my opinion) that an IBCLC, who can be considered a health
professional in her/his own right, and who can obtain professional liability
insurance under "allied health professional" (and is noted as such by a
certain company that provides malpractice insurance) and is is covered by that
liability insurance just as anyone else who is categorized under "allied
health professionals," is at any more risk of being sued for anything than any
other health professional.  If we looked at the percentage of RNs that have
been sued for "bad advice" or  physicians sued for "bad advice" or for
malpractice compared to the percentage of IBCLCs, what do you think the
outcome would be?

If the consent form isn't worth the paper it is written on, then consent forms
in the hospital aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Keep in mind that anyone can sue anyone for anything.  Whether or not the suit
will make it to court is another issue.   Even if you are an MD, PhD, IBCLC,
you can be sued.  So, if you are an RN, IBCLC, you can be sued for bad advice
that causes damage to an infant just as much as if you are Jane Doe, IBCLC who
gives bad advice that causes damage to an infant, just as much as if you are
John Roe, MD who gives bad advice.....

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC