Working with an IBCLC mentor
Aspiring to become an IBCLC? Check out these resources and guidelines for IBCLC mentees
According to the IBCLE guidelines, you must:
Locate and contract with IBCLCs who will serve as mentors and choose one IBCLC to serve as the Chief Mentor. You can work with as many IBCLC mentors as you would like. For pathway 3, it is recommended to network within your community to locate experienced IBCLCs who are willing to serve as mentors. You can check out MLCA’s Mentorship Director here and also find local IBCLCs on zipmilk.org. It is recommended to work with more than one mentor so that you can observe and learn from more than one experienced IBCLC.
It it recommended to sign an agreement and establish a business relationship you and your mentor to specify the overall needs and commitment time frame. Here is an example of a mentorship agreement. Annie Frisbee also has sample agreements. Payment is not required for mentorship.
Ensure you meet the mentor’s and the practice setting’s requirements regarding policies, rules or guidelines for practice like professional liability insurance, immunization certificates, etc.
Set up your schedule for clinical hours. For example, if you had 3 mentors (one of them being your chief mentor), you could do lactation visits with Mentor A on Mondays/Tuesdays, with Mentor B on Wednesdays/Thursdays and Mentor C on Fridays.
Responsibilities and Resources for Mentees:
You are responsible for collecting a signed Pathway 3 Mentor Agreement Form for each mentor they have (see page 15 here)
You are responsible for keeping track of their hours (see page 17 Here). You could also change this to a Word or Excel document for easier tracking.
If you add or change mentors, you must notify the IBCLC staff of the change and obtain a Pathway 3 Mentor Agreement Form (pg 15) for any new mentors. You can add a new mentor at any time, but clinical hours with a new mentor will not count until the new mentor has been verified.
Working with Your Chief Mentor:
One of your mentors must agree to serve as the Chief Mentor of the Pathway 3 Plan. You should work with your Chief Mentor to:
Create and execute a Pathway 3 Plan which covers all of the duties listed on the Clinical Competencies for the Practice of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants. You could use the Red/Yellow/Green approach: you review all of the competencies and in Red, highlight the skills you are least familiar with and need to build first. These are skills you’ll likely need to observe your mentor do several times before doing them on your own. The Yellow competencies are those that you have had some experience with or feel somewhat confident in. The Green competencies are skill that you feel proficient in, and your mentor should have you independently practices these skills first during visits.
Secure the practice settings in your are gettin your directly supervised clinical practice hours (ex: going with the mentor on home visits).
Set up times to periodically meet to review your progress.
At the end of your clinical hours, report the percentage of time each mentor provided direct supervision to the Pathway 3 applicant (see pg 18 here for Application for CERPs Award to Pathway 3 Mentors). Use your timesheet to first calculate how much time your spent with each mentor, then have your mentor review, sign and mail the form to their regional IBCLC office. This is for the purpose of awarding Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) to mentors.
What’s next?
If you are a MLCA member and want more information regarding the becoming an IBCLC, please send your inquiry to mentorship@masslca.org.
If you are not a MLCA member and want to become a member, please sign up on our website https://www.masslca.org/
