When I became certified as an IBCLC in 1987 my first practice setting was in a peds office. They provided me a room, and let me use their scale. I had to show them my malpractice insurance and get a TB test. I only worked when I had an appointment, and I often brought my then 3 yr old with me. (She was happy to color quietly for a while in exchange for bribes, and the docs didn't care. Their attitude was "what difference does it make to have one more kid hanging around a pediatric practice? Lydia was a great favorite with the nurses and even persuaded them to help talk me into letting her get her ears pierced!") I collected my payment directly from the patient, and rented pumps (that were stored on the premises) to those who needed them. The practice made the profit from the pumps, and my tracking them was considered a fair exchange for the free office space. The docs liked having someone who could help with the time-consuming breastfeeding questions. I liked (especially when I was clinically inexperienced) being able to walk out the door of my office and grab a doc to look at mastitis or infected nipples, etc. It was good PR for the practice that they had an LC, and after I left, they later got another LC on staff. They were very generous with me, and soon, moms from other peds groups were making appointments. Having their moms come to our peds group didn't make the other local docs very happy (as some patients switched over), so I soon got my own office space in order to be able to serve more moms. I had a partner in those days who mostly handled the business while I did consults. Our practice typically saw over 300 women a year for consults (I see about half that number per year now since I travel and write more), and we had a large rental pump fleet. For my first year in practice, the situation in the peds office was very workable, and I still see it as a win-win situation for the LC who doesn't want the hassle (which is considerable) of setting up her own office. Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC Austin Lactation Associates LactNews Press www.lactnews.com *********************************************** 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(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html