Very good points being made about the IBCLC process, the testing, supervised hours etc. Below I will describe a model that seemed to work very well and could be used by many students: I have a good friend who took the BSC course via distance learning. (Breastfeeding Support Consultants, I believe). She took the course many years ago and I am not sure if the program still exists. She is an RN, however, she had worked a few years, then had her family and had not practiced nursing for over 20 yrs. After the program, she re-entered nursing via work as an RN/IBCLC once her children were older. Anyway, as I recall, the course involved extensive reading, documented clinical hours (she worked at a bf-friendly peds office), recorded transcripts sent to and critiqued by the instructor, observing classes and critiquing them, and many many conversations with the instructor by phone. I am sure I am not doing the program justice because it was a very comprehensive course that took a long time to complete. The counseling part was very strong. The final test, as I recall, was taken by my friend at a university library where it was proctored. This lady is an excellent IBCLC and her counseling skills are excellent. The course was not inexpensive, but not prohibitive, and a student can pace themselves doing the work. For example, a student could take 1 yr or 3 yrs to complete, if I am not mistaken. I think some of these former instructors may be on lactnet and could comment. One important thing I would like to mention is that this LC often comments that she feels at a disadvantage because she does not have a really strong clinical background in neonatal. She has often stated that having been an RN in a nicu is a real advantage (myself and another one of her colleagues). I think this would be especially true for hospital-based LCs. So that those types of clinical experiences, and others, would be very valuable. Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN Tupelo MS, s.e. USA *********************************************** 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(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html