Brenda, Sorry to hear you had such a terrible day. It is difficult to work 
with managers and others who just don't "get it." Sometimes we IBCLCs feel 
so all alone.

I have a few comments for you.
You said: Two days before this meeting, the formula company representatives 
came in with a truckload of food and a Powerpoint presentation on the 
benefits of DHA supplementation (I saw the handouts and a paper that said 
Mead Johnson paid over $2000 for this talk, including a $500 honorarium for 
the speaker). I did not attend, as I never want to align myself with these 
marketers.

It is all right to attend these meetings, as far as the IBLCE is concerned. 
In fact, it may be a good idea so that you find out what the rep is telling 
the nurses. You may be able to add some information. Take notes so
that you can remember exactly what the rep says.  I would never accept any 
food,drink or gifts at these meetings, but attendance is all right.

You said: On my agenda of ideas and items of discussion, I put down that I 
wanted to discuss the hazards of allowing formula company reps onto our 
floors if we are trying to get staff to participate more in breastfeeding 
support for our patients, this undermines our efforts.

Many hospitals have rules about limiting formula reps on the floors. They
do not allow them "free rein" but do allow them to meet with one person in 
order
to share their information. Check to see what kind of policy your hospital 
has about
drug representatives. Formula representatives should follow this policy as 
well.

You said: I am sure all of you on this list can get an idea of what I said, 
i.e. the marketing
code, the dangers of aligning myself as a professional LC with formula 
company reps, why the DHA info was skewed, etc.

Would your manager allow you to give an in-service about the IBLCE Code of 
Ethics and the tenets you follow in your practice? Could you prepare a talk 
about the differences in breast milk and formula?

You said: To make a VERY long story short, this evidently opened up a can of 
worms
that I wasn't expecting. My boss became extremely defensive and 
angry,accused me of being a "Nazi", and told me that not only does she 
expect the LCs to be supportive of the Mead Johnson reps coming in with 
their education, that she expects me to attend all of the lectures as part 
of
my job.

Your manager's behavior was unprofessional. This type of "Nazi" comment is 
uncalled for, and you may want to write down this discussion and share it 
with the CNO of your hospital. There have been many comments about the use 
of the word "nazi" when discussing an IBCLC on Lactnet, along with helpful 
ideas for you to include if you decide to write down and share your 
manager's comments and how you felt.

You said: Please let me know what you think of this situation - I am really 
upset and do not want to attend these info sessions. In fact, I will refuse. 
Do I have any recourse on this issue with the code of ethics? This is the 
worst day I have ever had as an LC, and I've been doing this for over 10 
years.

The Code of Ethics does not say you cannot attend formula company lectures 
if not attending would cause you to lose your job. If you would prefer not 
to attend, after a few days, ask your manager for a time to sit down and 
discuss how you felt about her comments, and tell her that you would prefer 
not to attend. Explain why.
Hopefully she will reconsider her comments. If she continues to say that it 
is part of your job to attend, then you will have to decide for yourself 
what you want to do. I do not believe that the IBLCE would feel attendance 
is a violation of our Code.

Sincerely,
Ann Calandro, BSN,RNC, IBCLC
Chair, IBLCE Ethics and Discipline Committee


Thanks,
Brenda P., BS, IBCLC 

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

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