Very good points being made about the IBCLC process, the testing, supervised 
hours etc. Below I will describe a model that seemed to work very well and 
could be used by many students:

I have a good friend who took the BSC course via distance learning. 
(Breastfeeding Support Consultants, I believe). She took the course many 
years ago and I am not sure if the program still exists. She is an RN, 
however, she had worked a few years, then had her family and had not 
practiced nursing for over 20 yrs. After the program, she re-entered nursing 
via work as an RN/IBCLC once her children were older. Anyway, as I recall, 
the course involved extensive reading, documented clinical hours (she worked 
at a bf-friendly peds office), recorded transcripts sent to and critiqued by 
the instructor, observing classes and critiquing them, and many many 
conversations with the instructor by phone. I am sure I am not doing the 
program justice because it was a very comprehensive course that took a long 
time to complete. The counseling part was very strong. The final test, as I 
recall, was taken by my friend at a university library where it was 
proctored. This lady is an excellent IBCLC and her counseling skills are 
excellent. The course was not inexpensive, but not prohibitive, and a 
student can pace themselves doing the work. For example, a student could 
take 1 yr or 3 yrs to complete, if I am not mistaken. I think some of these 
former instructors may be on lactnet and could comment.

One important thing I would like to mention is that this LC often comments 
that she feels at a disadvantage because she does not have a really strong 
clinical background in neonatal. She has often stated that having been an RN 
in a nicu is a real advantage (myself and another one of her colleagues). I 
think this would be especially true for hospital-based LCs. So that those 
types of clinical experiences, and others, would be very valuable.

Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
Tupelo MS, s.e. USA

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