This is what I wrote to the IBLCE (email kept getting bounced back, so I had
to try and send a fax numerous times before finally getting through.)
IBLCE Board Chair Roberta Hewat <mailto:robertahewat%40iblce.org>
[log in to unmask]
Maureen Fjeld, ILCA rep to the IBLCE board.
<mailto:maureenfjeld%40ilca.org> [log in to unmask] or
<mailto:Fjeldm%40telus.net> [log in to unmask]
Becky Mannel, president of ILCA. <mailto:rebeccamannel%40ilca.org>
[log in to unmask]
Dear Dr. Hewat,
I am an IBLC in private practice in Florence, Italy, as well as vice
president of the Italian ILCA affiliate AICPAM, and am writing to express my
concerns over the new Standards of Practice that were recently published.
I am currently working for the Region of Tuscany as Coordinator of the
European Union (EU) Project n. 2004326 "Promotion of Breastfeeding in
Europe: Pilot Testing the Blueprint for Action". As you are probably aware,
the European Blueprint for Action underlines, in more than one section, the
importance of having an IBCLC in both hospital and community settings. These
references to IBCLCs are, in large part, due to the efforts of Ilse Bichler,
the IBLCE coordinator in Europe. Thanks to the Blueprint, we are hoping to
establish recognition of the credential at the EU level.
As part of the EU project, the Regional Breastfeeding Committee had decided
to pay for 58 health care providers to sit for the exam in 2007. This would
mean an IBCLC in every hospital in the region with more than 500 births per
year as well as one for every local health district. I was strongly in favor
of promoting the IBCLC credential because, as the IBLCE site states on its
website, the IBLCE is an organization that:
* Motivates health professionals to broaden their breastfeeding
expertise
* Recognizes that specialist skills in lactation are needed within
multiple professions
* Raises standards of care in lactation management
However, having read the new SoP, I feel much less confident that
accrediting IBCLC here would have any real meaning, given that an IBCLC
would currently be hard pressed to do her/his job well while respecting the
new SoP, which seem to contradict what IBLCE so confidently states on its
website.
I would appreciate knowing what I could tell people interested in the IBCLC
credential when it currently appears to offer no advantages to broadening
one's breastfeeding expertise, does not recognize the level of
specialization that we have, and certainly will not raise the standard of
care in lactation management if it is no longer possible to present
evidence-based research that contradicts another health care provider's.
Sincerely yours,
Elise M. Chapin, M.Ed., IBCLC
____________________________________________
Elise M. Chapin
Firenze, Italia
mailto:[log in to unmask]
MAMI -Movimento Allattamento Materno Italiano
http://www.mami.org
***********************************************
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 email list is powered by LISTSERV (R).
There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
