At the risk of making enemies, I have to respond to the post that stated did not think LC's in hospitals needed to be RN's. I have found that my NICU background and 40 years in OB have helped make me more credible since we are fighting a battle to be recognized as a valuable member of the medical team. The truth is many doctors think we LC's are "nuts". Some docs feel threatened when someone may know something that they don't . Soooooooooo, because we who work in hospitals and work with very sick babies, have an advantage because we are also RN's,we can't or won't be ignored. Now another problem is the staff. They are reluctant to accept new information except when it comes from peers or docs. Dont get me wrong but many times being an RN has helped me understand and help a patient when just delivered and trying to get baby to breast. Being able to assess whether a baby is transitioning to life outside the womb in a normal way is invaluable. Our goal is to get baby to breast as soon after delivery as possible so another nurse can't come to me and say she doesn't think I should let the baby nurse at this time because I can determine that from my 28 years nursery/NICU experience. I have the greatest respect for all Lactation Consultant regardless of their background and we need lots of support for patients after discharge as well. Another issue is the hospital has to deal with insurance issues when hiring. It would be nice to have peer councilors to help me with daily rounds and it is one of my goals for the future and they would be covered under me as the RN. Hope this gives lactnetters a little insight into some of the obstacles present in working with hospitals. Let us all work toward promoting Lactation Consultants as a profession and a valuable member of the medical team regardless of the LC's education. we all take the same boards. I thank you all for this opportunity to connect with other LC's and have the upmost respect and gratitude for your support.
[log in to unmask]
St. Mary"s Medical Center Lactation Department
West Palm Beach, Fl. 
Improving life one breast fed baby at a time

             ***********************************************

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(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html