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June 19, 2007
PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT FOR ILCA'S DRAFT SCOPE OF PRACTICE FOR
THE IBCLC
ILCA is seeking public comment on the
Draft Scope of
Practice for the IBCLC. The document was prepared by the
ILCA Scope of Practice Task Force, which was empanelled in
January 2007 by the ILCA Board of Directors.
ILCA seeks comments until July 23, 2007. Comments
will be reviewed by the ILCA Scope of Practice Task Force,
which will make appropriate revisions to the Draft. The
Revised Draft will then be submitted to the ILCA Board of
Directors for a final review and vote. The goal is to have a
Model Scope of Practice for the IBCLC available for public
distribution at the ILCA Conference in San Diego,
California, USA, 15-19 Aug 2007.
We encourage you to submit your comments and suggestions
using the new thread that has been created on the
publicly-available section of the ILCA Discussion Board.
There, you will find a topic entitled "June 2007 ILCA Draft
Scope of Practice." Using the Discussion Board provides a
chronologic record of comments: you will be able to see what
others have posted, which often triggers new thoughts of
your own. If you would prefer to submit your comments
privately, please send an e-mail to
info@ilca.org indicating
in the subject line that you are writing about the "June
2007 ILCA Draft SOP."
This Draft is an ILCA-originated document
Note that this ILCA Draft Scope of Practice has been created
independently of the efforts currently underway at the
International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE)
to prepare a similarly-titled document.
See:
http://www.iblce.org/documents/IBLCEBdMtgExecutiveSummary03-07.pdf.
What is a scope of practice and why does it matter to the
IBCLC?
Currently, IBCLCs practicing to the highest professional
standards comply with the mandatory
Code of Ethics
enforced by IBLCE, and the model
Standards of
Practice issued and encouraged by ILCA. Both of these
documents apply to all IBCLCs around the world, no matter
what their practice setting or location.
Scopes of practice for health care providers (HCPs) are
customarily enforced by licensing authorities with small
jurisdictional reach (i.e. a state, or perhaps a country). A
scope of practice will describe the different "customary and
usual practices" that are used within that small
jurisdiction, by members of the licensed health care
profession. Many reimbursement systems are tied to the
existence of a license for an HCP, as an assurance of
quality control for the general public. HCPs using
sub-standard practices can have their license revoked. Those
paying for or reimbursing for HCP services use the existence
of a valid license as an independent standard to measure
quality of care.
The IBCLC differs because s/he is an
internationally-certified allied health care professional,
who is not internationally licensed.
Goals for the use of a scope of practice
ILCA's vision "is a worldwide network of lactation
professionals. Our mission is to advance the profession of
lactation consulting worldwide through leadership, advocacy,
professional development, and research." Adequate
reimbursement for the expertise an IBCLC provides is
critical to nurture the profession of lactation consulting,
and the prestige and employability of the IBCLC.
A Model Scope of Practice for the IBCLC may permit smaller
groups of IBCLCs, assembled under their local jurisdictional
umbrella, to receive a license -- and therefore the fees for
which they are qualified and entitled.
The ILCA Board of Directors thanks the members of the ILCA
Scope of Practice Task Force for their thorough, thoughtful
and diligent work over the past several months:
Jan Barger, IBCLC (Chair) (USA-Illinois) (lactation
educator)
Crystal Stearns, RNC, IBCLC, BSN, MS (USA-Oklahoma)
(hospital-based IBCLC)
Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC (USA-Massachusetts) (former ILCA
President)
Kathy Leeper, MD, IBCLC (USA-Nebraska) (breastfeeding
medicine specialist)
Rachel Myr, IBCLC (Norway) (midwife)
Susan Burger, PhD, MHS, IBCLC (USA-New York)
(nutritionist/international policy)
Attie Sandick, IBCLC (Canada) (private practice IBCLC)
Judi Lauwers, BA, IBCLC, ILCA Education Coordinator
(USA-Pennsylvania)
Virginia Thorley OAM, Dip Ed, MA. IBCLC, ILCA Publications
Committee Chair (Australia)
ILCA Board Liaison: ILCA President Becky Mannel, BS, BA,
IBCLC (USA-Oklahoma)
Additional ILCA Board participant: ILCA Secretary Liz
Brooks, JD, IBCLC (USA-Pennsylvania)
Sincerely,
Becky Mannel
President
ILCA Board of Directors
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