Pat,

<< Everyone I know scrounges for cerps because taking the test is so nerve
 wracking.  I have to take it again in the year 2006. >>

I hope it is comforting to you to know that no, you won't have to take the
exam again unless you don't have enough cerps.  Us guinea pigs (who originally
took it in 85, 86, 87, & 88 all retook it at 10 years and proved that we were
still as smart as the average bear.  (or is that average LC?)  Anyway, I do
believe IBLCE has eliminated the requirement that you MUST take the exam at 10
years -- CERPing every 5 years is still required.  However, you MUST re-up
every 5 years or you are a dead-in-the-water IBCLC.  No longer an IBCLC and
you can't use that terminology lest you be guilty of fraudulent behavior.

I took the exam for the second time in 1997.  Frankly, I thought it was rather
fun.  It was great seeing people I knew in Syracuse, NY where I took it
because I was on vacation in Montrose, PA.  (Hi Anne!!).  Not NEARLY as
nervewracking as taking it the first time.  Remember, you work lactation all
the time, so you KNOW this stuff!!

Now if I had to take the nursing boards again....well, let me assure you, I
would curl up and die first.

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC
Wheaton, IL