To Julie,

I would caution anyone starting a program to guarantee 24/7 and carry a 
pager as the only LC. Your enthusiasm is admirable, but down the line it may 
be difficult for you to "back off" and not provide this comprehensive 
service if you find it too all consuming. It might be wise to just offer 
regular daily hours to start. Even if you have good intentions and desire to 
cover during off hours, unless they are paying you "call time" and even if 
they are, this IMHO is the fastest way to become overwhelmed in a hurry, 
unless you have a very small hospital or breastfeeding rate.

Our warmline clearly states our daily hours of 7:30 till 4 PM. Even as the 
largest hospital in the areas, we respect the need for all of our team 
members to have down time, especially after a very busy workday. While we 
have some evening hours, they are not consistent, so we then can book 
consults on our terms.  We also provide La Leche League numbers to our 
patients as a second reference. And of course they always have their PCP for 
back up as well. Although they may not be the best source of advice you 
can't always "do it all". Once you have established yourself as credible, 
the referrals from PCP's will come as they are for the most part happy to 
have someone to send these moms to, that have ongoing breastfeeding 
concerns.

Just my .02,

LuAnn Smith RN,BSN,IBCLC
York, PA

P.S. All best wishes for your aspiring LC career!

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