Robyn asked why more IBCLCs are not willing to serve as clinical mentors.

One reason is that it takes more time to do a consult when you have an
intern. The intern should be willing to reimburse the mentor for this
extended time.

Another reason is that some IBCLCs might not feel capable of teaching.
Many of us in private practice have unpredictable schedules, and
business definately waxes and wanes.  It can make it hard to make sure
one's intern gets enough hours.

Other IBCLCs have ethical standards for potential interns.  I personally
will not mentor anyone who is charging mothers for lactation
consultations who is not board certified.  IBCLC is ILCAs official
standard for LC practice, in order to protect the public by having a
mechanism whereby people can demonstrate a basic level of knowledge
before advertising themselves as a lactation consultant.  That's not to
say that there are not people who are very skilled in breastfeeding
helping who are not IBCLC, but our society is a formal one, where people
with skills are supposed to become formally qualified before they practice.

And a few IBCLCs are afraid to train their competition.  I am not,
because I find that the more IBCLCs there are in my city, the more work
there is to go around.  A certain critical mass of IBCLCs seems to be
neccessary for enough moms to have access that it becomes a known and
"normal" thing to do to see us if a mother is having difficulty.
Perhaps you can offer to make an agreement with potential mentors that
you will cover a different territory than her preferred one, and that
you will make no efforts to get referrals from her favorite referral
sources, but will develop your own.  An IBCLC with more business than
she can handle might be very happy to take you on, so that she will have
someone she has confidence in that can take her overflow.

I would encourage you not to give up, but to keep asking.  Perhaps
someone in a nearby city will be more receptive. My current and previous
interns live a half hour from me, but my next one is going to be in my
own area.  (I feel I can only work with one person at a time, so I have
asked her to wait until July).  My current intern had to call many
IBCLCs to find one that would work with her.

I would also urge my IBCLC colleagues who have the required 5 years of
experience to become clinical mentors.  It's really nice to have someone
to travel with, bounce ideas off of, share your wisdom with, and get new
ideas from.  I find it the best antidote to "burn out".  You know what
they say about solidifying one's knowledge in medical residency: "See
one, do one, teach one".  It is true, teaching allows you to reorganize
and re-examine your knowledge and practices.  It's a challenge worth taking.

Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC

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