We want to hear from ILCA members about your experiences! Share with us how ILCA membership impacts you, and you will be entered in a random drawing to win your 2018 ILCA membership.
Here are some questions we would love to hear your answers to. Pick one to answer and leave your response in the comments. You’ll receive a second entry if you also paste your answer into the comments on THIS THREAD on Facebook. Watch here for the winner.
We will select a winner by random draw on 20 December 2017.
- How has ILCA membership impacted the way you practice?
- What would you tell a colleague about the value of ILCA membership?
- What ILCA benefit is most important to you? Why?
- Or anything else you’d like us to know about why ILCA is important to you.
Your comments will help guide our thinking about ILCA membership, and may be used as a part of the materials we use to help others learn about ILCA.
Thank you for helping us learn more about what matters most to you!
I have a comment to make. I requested support from ILCA just recently to find out how to ethically do a journal club with information from JHL with colleagues who were not ILCA members. Unfortunately I have not hear back. This has been a common thread when I have specifically asked for advice and support. The JHL has been helpful thaogh. Kind regards
Cheryl Ganly-Lewis
I am so sorry that you have not received the support you need. Please email me at marketing@ilca.org and I will make sure you get connected with the right person.
How has ILCA membership impacted the way you practice?
What would you tell a colleague about the value of ILCA membership?
What ILCA benefit is most important to you? Why?
Or anything else you’d like us to know about why ILCA is important to you.
For me ILCA’s free CERPs and journal of Human Lactation help me to keep up to date in the lactation world. Since I work and live in China, it isn’t easy for me to attend conferences, which I would have loved to do as well. I also stay in contact with LC’s in Holland as well as in China and tell them that – if they understand and read English – that being an ILCA member is really worth it with getting the free CERPs and the journal to help you stay up to date.
Thank you, Petra
Yes I agree, the best benefit is the FREE CERPS- thanks Betsy
For question #3: I’ve never been a member, but I’m thinking those 10 free CERPs would definitely impact the way I practice, especially since my CLC renewal is coming up in 2018!
I bought ILCA membership because of the 10 free CERPs and its simple presentation of website. This attracted IBCLCs of the world to join together as a network with a large data base of resources. By being their volunteers after joining ILCA, I even know being their members can we have access of this resources data base, spread those knowledge to those who felt so desperately to get advice, not just those advice from their doctors they met. And these print-outs are soooooo valuable for mothers to refer to, to decide which would be the best for herself. Different charges of membership also reflects their core value of Knowledge, Diversity and Equity. I like ILCA so much.
Personal development – Learning and training does not have to relate to your career or job. Continuing education is a perfect way to follow a personal interest. … Whether it is to improve proficiency in the workplace, improve employee promotion options, or learning new skills; continuing education has many benefits.
ICA provide all IBCLCs, non IBCLCs the opportunity to keep going, work on themselves and gain updating knowledge.
Also help them to recertify by free CERPs annually both L_ CERP & E _ CERP.
Love to be member of this community.
Fayrouz Essawi
The biggest benefit for me is getting the Cerps at the conference and the free Cerps from webinars
What I really value about my ILCA membership is access to the resources like the patient information sheets and JHL, but also the free CERPs. And when I requested help or information, ILCA have always been quick to respond, thank you!
1) membership in ILCA gives me awareness of the best scientific evidence about breastfeeding so I can sort through opinions asked by my clients. 2) one gets a journal with good evidence-based practices, webinars- some of which are free, online classes for continuing education, and printed handouts that one can give to clients. 3) I love knowing that I do not need to do the research myself. I can rely on reading the work of others. 4) I love reading research from various regions, the country at large, and international research
This is my first year as an IBCLC and an ILCA member, and I have enjoyed the free CERPs and receiving the Journal of Human Lactation. In the latest issue of JHL, the article about Gestalt breastfeeding really inspired me! I am now using some of the positioning and counseling techniques described in the article, and I am seeing wonderful results.
Best practices in lactation have changed so much in recent years as the science of breast feeding has evolved. The educational resources of ILCA help us stay current and provide the best care.
How has ILCA membership impacted the way you practice?
Appartenere ad ILCA è un valore aggiunto per la mia pratica clinica, un modo per accedere, sia attraverso il “JOURNAL OF HUMAN LACTATION”, sia attraverso le conferenze on line, ad una formazione continua utilissima per il mio lavoro.
What would you tell a colleague about the value of ILCA membership?
Che si tratta di un utile complemento alla propria attività professionale, un modo per allagare i propri confini e le proprie conoscenze, senza doversi muovere dal posto in cui si vive.
What ILCA benefit is most important to you? Why?
I CERPS gratuiti, utilissimi per la ricertificazione , sono sicuramente imprtanti, come pure gli articoli dedicati alle famiglie, che, pur dovendoli io tradurre in italiano, sono utili da distribuire durante la mia attività, se si riferiscono al problema che sto trattando con una determinata coppia madre/bambino.
Appartenere ad ILCA mi fa sentire parte di un gruppo di persone che perseguono il medesimo scopo, aldilà della nazionalità di ciascuno di noi, e questo è davvero emozionante e positivo.
Membership perks that impacted my practice: the professional development through CERPs and access to the JHL articles!
The ILCA allows me to keep up with the latest research.
I would say the member directory has been most helpful in directing potential clients to me and the free creeps have helped me stay current.
How has ILCA membership impacted the way I practice? Well, I keep up to date with recent research and journal articles and am always looking at the subjects of the webinars. Apart from that I feel like part of a greater movement!
What would you tell a colleague about the value of ILCA membership? That ILCA membership truly enhances your practice, knowledge and benefits and is hard when you miss it’s benefits.
What ILCA benefit is most important to you? Why? The Journal and the Webinars. (education)
Or anything else you’d like us to know about why ILCA is important to you. Like I mentioned before: it enhances my practice, knowledge and makes me feel like part of a greater movement in helping health for mothers and babies!
I love being connected to other lactation consultants through ILCA, and the knowledge that we can share. I love the JHL and being able to search past issues online and I love the CERPS that come with membership! The knowledge I’ve gained from these resources has been invaluable to me in educating mothers about breastfeeding and then supporting them in my private practice. I work with a group of IBCLCs and I tell them all the time how I love ILCA and what I’ve learned due to my ILCA membership!
I joined ILCA 20 years ago, 1997, when I first passed the IBLCE exam, and their suggestion to join the professional association was tucked in with my You Passed letter. Membership afforded me access to JHL, which in a pre-Internet age offered articles, clinical tips, and book reviews that helped me hone my skills. My local affliliate (chapter) of ILCA, PRO-LC, based in Pennsylvania (and now a USLCA chapter), gave me the chance to mix-and-mingle with nearby colleagues, face-to-face. I attended my first ILCA conference in 2000 and loved meeting hundreds of IBCLCs from all over the world, and listening to them share their skill and expertise. With bolstered professional skill, l felt confident enough to run for a leadership position in the local affiliate… which opened doors for speaking/teaching opportunities … which led to my running for ILCA leadership (Board Secretary) 8 years after my certification. That morphed into the ILCA Presidency 2012-14.
So: “How has ILCA membership impacted the way you practice?” It has made me a better clinician, offered incomparable conference learning opportunities, and has been a springboard for considerable personal professional development. And I gotta say … those 10 free CERPs that are now made available to members — which PAYS for my annual membership fee — are frosting on the cake!
What benefits did I derive from being a member of ILCA?
To me, ILCA is the professional body of those of us who believe in breastfeeding. It means networking with my peers, gaining encouragement and inspiration from the shared knowledge, making mistakes and learning and reflecting together and this comes from the various avenues afforded by the organisation such as the Webairs, the annual conference, the blog and finally the Journal of Human Lactation. Being involved in the various committees meant another avenue of teamwork, working not only at the country level but also regional and finally at the international level. The world has become smaller as a result and I appreciate that we can provide the support needed for both the individual practitioner and the profession as a whole.
What ILCA benefit is most important to you? Why?
There are so many benefits, I can’t choose just one! The articles in JHL inform my practice, the webinars (especially the free ones!) increase my knowledge base, and the discounted conference admission saves me money. It’s also wonderful ot feel part of an INTERNATIONAL organization supporting those who support breastfeeding/chestfeeding families.