HELLO ALL,
    I'M NEW TO THIS GROUP AND AM AN ASPIRING LACTATION CONSULTANT. I CURRENTLY WORK AS A RN IN A LOCAL ER. BEEN TRYING TO GET INTO OB/GYN IN MY HOSPITAL FOR ABOUT 2 1/2 YRS. JUST NO OPENINGS. MISS THE TEACHING INVOLVED WITH BEING A NURSE I USED TO HAVE WHEN I WORKED A PRE-POST OP FLOOR. SINCE HAVING MY OWN CHILDREN AND HAVING A GREAT EXPERIENCE BREASTFEEDING I'VE DECIDED TO PASS ON MY KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES TO OTHERS IF I CAN. I THOUGHT BECOMING A LACTATION CONSULTANT WOULD BE A WAY I COULD DO THIS. 
    I'VE TALKED TO THE CLC AT MY HOSP AND ALTHOUGH SHE'S BEEN HELPFUL WITH BOOKS TO READ AND SOME SUGGESTIONS OF WHO TO TALK TO, I STILL NEED MORE. I'VE BEED ON SEVERAL WEBSITES, ORDERED A FEW BOOKS, AND JOINED ILCA. WHAT I REALLY NEED IS A MENTOR. SOMEONE TO FILTER THROUGH THE TECHNICAL STUFF FOR ME AND HELP ME THROUGH THE PROCESS. THE IBCLC WEBSITE SPELLS OUT THE PATHWAYS FOR ME SO I KNOW THE DIDACTICS I NEED. GETTING THEM ON THE OTHER HAND IS HARD FOR ME. SINCE I WORK IN THE ER SOME RESOURCES ARE LIMITED JUST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE. 
    I'VE SEEN SOME CLASSES FOR CLC TRAINING THAT LAST OVER A WEEK AND THAT JUST DOESN'T GO WITH MY LIFESTYLE. AND THE ONES I'VE SEEN ARE ALSO TOO FAR AWAY FOR ME TO DRIVE THERE AND BACK IN ONE DAY. I COULDN'T BE AWAY FROM MY KIDS FOR THAT LONG. I ALSO DON'T KNOW IF I NEED A CLASS LIKE THIS. SOME PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO HAVE TAKEN THIS CLASS AND SOME HAVEN'T. BUT IT SEEMS THAT IF I DID TAKE A CLC CLASS IT WILL GIVE ME THE 45CEU'S THAT I NEED ALL IN ONE SHOT. MONEY IS ALSO AN ISSUE. SINCE I WORK IN ER THEY WILL PAY FOR SEMINARS AND CLASSES INVOLVED WITH CRITICAL CARE NOT LACTATION. 
    MYOTHER ISSUE IS FINDING WHERE TO DO MY HOURS, WHO CAN I DO THEM WITH. DO I NEED JUST ONE PERSON TO SUPERVISE EVERYTHING I DO OR ALL THE TEACHING I DO OR WATCH THEM DO. NOT SURE HOW IT WORKS. JUST TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE TO TALK TO ME LONG ENOUGH TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS SEEMS TO BE TEDIOUS FOR THEM. THE WEBSITES ARE HELPFUL BUT I NEED MORE THAN THAT. 
    HOW DO MOST PEOPLE DO IT? WHAT KINDS OF EXPERIENCES DID YOU GET? HOW DID YOU FIND THEM? CAN YOU WORK AS A CLC WHILE GETTING HOURS FOR IBCLC? HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. JUST NEED SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO SPEND THE TIME TO TALK TO ME AND HELP ME ALONG. I KNOW THE WEBSITE SAYS YOU NEED TO WORK WITH AN IBCLC THAT HAS RECERTIFIED AT LEAST ONCE. A FEW PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO HAVE BEEN IN THE FIELD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BUT DON;T MEET THAT REQUIREMENT. IS THIS TRUE OR A WAY AROUND THIS? 
    I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS AND AM ACTUALLY EXCITED TO TEACH AGAIN. ESPECAILLY SOMETHING THAT I PERSONALLY ENJOYED SO MUCH. I READ ALOT OF BABY CARE BOOKS AND BREASTFEEDING BOOKS FOR THE LAY MOM WHEN I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY NOW 3YR OLD TWINS. THEN WHEN MY SON WAS BORN JUST 16 MOS LATER I READ EVEN MORE. I WAS ABLE TO BREASTFEED ALL OF THEM, MY SON TIL 18MOS!!!  I'VE LEARNED ALOT JUST WITH MY OWN READING AND EXPERIENCES AND HAVE SHARED THESE THINGS WITH MY FRIENDS WHO'VE HAD KIDS RECENTLY AND HELPED THEM WITH NURSING THEIR CHILDREN AN THIS GAVE ME INCENTIVE TO DO MORE. 
    I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU COULD PROVIDE. ANY CONFERENCES/SEMINARS THAT AREN'T TOO EXPENSIVE, NAMES OF PEOPLE THAT MIGHT HELP. SCHOOLS THAT OFFER CLASSES. ANYTHING. THE CLOSER THE BETTER. 
    THANKS,

TWINCERELY,

SHELY O'CONNOR RN
MERIDEN, CT. USA

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

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]