Student IBCLCs, as well as recertifying IBCLCs are fortunate in that
there are a number of excellent examination prep and other LC courses
available throughout the US. If you are a student, depending upon where
you are in preparing to become an IBCLC, these courses can serve
different purposes. If you are just beginning your preparation and
study to become an IBCLC, a week-long course can serve as a useful
"starting point" or introduction to the field, a survey course if you
will, of the field. You certainly are not going to learn everything you
need to know about our profession in anyone's one-week program. Rather
than looking at these courses as a way to earn all your CERPs, or
learning what you need to know to practice, use them instead as a way
to organize your thoughts and study program into more easily achievable
units or sections. Use the coursework and the readings as the
foundation knowledge you will need before you can begin working with
mothers and babies. Refer to the textbooks, and continue to read and
study while you accumulate your practice hours. YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO
EARN CERPS WHILE YOU ACCUMULATE YOUR PRACTICE HOURS, EVEN IF THESE CERPS
WILL NOT 'COUNT' BECAUSE THEY WILL BE TOO OLD WHEN YOU SIT FOR THE EXAM.
Education is never wasted, even if you cannot get 'credit' for it.
Several years later, after your breastfeeding consultancy practice hours
have been accumulated, a week-long course can serve another purpose.
These courses are excellent review courses, and can often point up areas
in need of further study or review. They can draw attention to topics
you may have missed in your preparation, or perhaps offer different
views or resources on topics you already feel comfortable with.
However, an applicant with 4000 practice hours should also be aware that
she probably will not find 3 or more days of introductory information
particularly useful. Ethically and professionally, she should question
her motivation for enrolling in a course that offers her CERPs for
information she has already mastered.
If you have already accumulated your practice hours, and need to earn
more current CERPS immediately prior to sitting the exam, consider NOT
earning all your CERPs from the same provider. Our field is only 20
years old; yet there are a variety of excellent programs and resources
available to students. Even for those with limited travel funds
available, ILCA and JHL study modules, on-line education and local
conferences offer options for earning CERPs at a lower cost than
traveling to another city.
I would also like to remind all students that preparing for a new
career, or adding a specialty certification to an existing
certification, costs money. You would not expect to prepare to become a
teacher, lawyer, or other professional without incurring educational
costs. You should not expect to become an IBCLC without cost. The
cheapest way isn't always the best way. Focus on making the investment
in getting the best education and preparing as fully as you can for the
exam, not doing it the cheapest and easiest way possible.
Remember, financial assistance is available in the form of MILCC
scholarships for all IBLCE exam and recertification by CERPs applicants.
See our website, www.iblce.org and the MILCC website, www.milcc.org, for
more information. Preference is given to applicants working with
disadvantaged populations, but all applications are considered.
Barbara Ash, MA, IBCLC
Assistant Executive Director
IBLCE
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