hi,
has anyone passed the exam recently and would like to give a few pointers to someone who has no clue
really would love any advice on the following.
how to get hours in NYC !!! (its impossible)
advice on how or what to study
good books you would not live without

and anything else you would have loved to know while on this adventure to become an IBCLC
thanks soo much

Hi Sarah.

There's a lot of questions there! I suppose it would help to know where you are in your journey to becoming an IBCLC. That will determine your Pathway and will then help with advice from us.

undertaking pathway 3. currently have a mentor but only once a week. i really need more experience and hours. i find the once a week not enough time. I really want to sit for the 2012 exam and don't know how im going to get my 500 clinical hours. Also it hard to build a relationship with the mentor and really focus on what is needed due to the time restraint.

so any help/advice would be awesome
thanks
sarah

What setting are you working in with your mentor -- hospital, private practice, doctor's office/clinic?

Have you tried asking if your local WIC office or public health agency has LCs that are willing to take a student? If your mentor is in private practice, this will give you experience with a higher volume of clients, and a different demographic as well. If your mentor is at a hospital, this will give you experience with breastfeeding issues beyond the first 0-3 days of life.

Good luck!

Also, I might be wrong, but I think that in order to qualify under Pathway 3, you have to have your clinical hours completed by the time you submit your exam application. I am planning to sit the exam in 2011 and have to mail my application by the end of the month (but I get an extension because I am in an academic program that doesn't finish until the end of June). So remember to keep that in mind when you are crunching numbers about how many hours you need before the 2012 exam.

Speak with your mentor and tell her what you told us. Ask for her advice in getting more hours. Do you have any background in breastfeeding support?

http://www.iblce.org/news-from-the-board/the-iblce-board-of-directors-adopts-new-exam-eligibility-requirements-for-first-time-candidates

This is a board certification, they don't make it easy. You have a lot of education and practical work to do in prep for sitting. You have to qualify to sit for the test!

Become a LLLL .
Take formal study course test prep.
Start going to conferences
Read, Read read :
Start with the Textbook:
Breastfeeding and Human Lactation textbook By Kathleen G. Auerbach & Jan Riordan




It's actually an enormous undertaking and alot of work to mentor someone. A lot of IBCLC don't take on people they don't know. Start going to the NY/ILCA meeting http://www.nylca.org

All the hospitals have IBCLC on staff and they take on mentors. You do NOT need to be an RN. In the 1990's I did my 500 clinical hours at Beth Israel (contact Kate sharp). Also the IBCLC at Mt Sinai will mentor (Pat Sterner).

Are you already a ppdoula? It's good to know some "normal" and dealing with some of the basic routine regualr breastfeeding issues with clients.
I valued the hospital setting because it gave me lots of exposure to very complicated breastfeeding situation. Beth Israel was perfect for me at the time because they had a breastfeeding clinic that outsiders visited and all of the most medically complicated cases would go to see them. Special needs newborns, cleft, failure to thrive, older baby re lactation, adoptive mothers, maternal hormone issues, mothers with physical handicaps. I saw everything that was to be seen plus some.

just want to thanks everyone that responded to my questions. an update... i did find an amazing mentor who helped me get my clinical hours and taught me so much. i also completed all the requirements and im taking the exam in a couple of weeks.

its been the best 2 years ...
so a huge thanks !!