CLC / RNC

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2011

CLC? Lactation?

The main purpose of the RNC is to show that your an expert in your area of nursing. There are three different types of RNC exams in OB so the types of questions would depend on which exam.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2011

I am CLC certified. I actually became such as a student. I was working with Lactation as part of my capstone project (helped the unit I was on increase their exclusive breastfeeding rates) and thought being so would be helpful. It was...in more ways than one. I was also pregnant at the time and planning on breastfeeding myself. Also, the L&D unit I was just hired on (start Aug 15) is a Baby Friendly hospital and they liked the fact that I was a CLC.

obenfermera1 · Jul 25, 2011

Here in L&D there's no push (or even mention of) CLC yet, thank god!

RNC on the other hand is aggressively pushed, much to my dismay......yes, sadly I'm in the mid life crisis/burned out L&D nurse category....anywho, at my hospital we get a bright shiny quarter per hour more in pay with our RNC titles. The purpose of such a certification is bragging rights for the hospital (X percentage of OUR nurses are CERTIFIED, oooohlala!) and most nurses themselves seem pretty proud of it too, so there's and added bonus of the pride of being "certified" in your specialty plus being able to sign that RNC after your name.....

Have I fully conveyed my disdain for the concept? Sorry guys, my cynical nature reigns supreme :clown:

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Jul 26, 2011

I'm a CLC and I would highly recommend the course to anyone working with moms and babies. Not just as a way to beef up your resume, but really to increase your knowledge about practices to optimize breastfeeding rates and education, especially as a new nurse right out of school. It's a fairly simple week-long course that increased my knowledge exponentially.

sunbaby0811 · Jul 27, 2011

Hi - first post here (long time lurker!) and I don't want to hijack the OP, but I was just curious if you'd recommend CLC for someone just working on pre-requisite courses? I am employed full time not in the medical field. I'm 99% sure I want to work towards becoming RN (looking at an accelerated BSN program) in order to work LDRP and ultimately become IBCLC. I've just started getting my feet wet, but am contemplating taking the CLC course in the winter. Would this be a waste of my time!? Should I wait until I'm closer to starting nursing school? (and if it matters, I am nursing a baby now, so I'd use the info for myself if nothing else!). Thanks :)

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Jul 27, 2011

I would recommend the CLC course for pretty much anyone, honestly. There were public health students and other people in my class that don't have one-on-one regular contact with patients, and they seemed to think it was worth it. There were also a number of people there who eventually wanted to become IBCLCs. I don't think taking it this early would be a detriment to you. In my opinion, it was an excellent course.

winter_green · Jul 27, 2011

Would you recommend for a new grad nurse to get RNC when finishing with 2 years of full time RN employment???

I'm thinking ahead, I think I would like to get RNC by end of my first 2 years but a little hesitant because if getting the RNC does it mean you know it all? I'm sure by end of my first 2 years, there's still be things I don't know of and such... ?

MKS8806 · Jul 27, 2011

I'm planning to get my RNC next year. That will be my second year as a nurse in OB. At my hospital, we have several RNC certified nurses, but we do not get any pay incentive for that.

As for CLC, it is certainly not required where I work. We have two lactation consultants, that are. But they do not do bedside nursing, except with lactation.

I have heard that in the future, there may be some incentive for hospitals with higher breastfeeding rates. Has anyone else heard this? I think this is absurd for the anyone, let alone the government, to tell someone how to feed their baby. If this comes about, it might be beneficial for hospitals to have more CLC certified nurses on staff.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

I've never heard about incentives for hospitals with higher breastfeeding rates. But I don't think it's absurd - breastfeeding is a public health issue, and it makes sense to encourage hospitals to encourage patients to breastfeed. It's not simply one choice out of several equal choices. I'm sure that if the government is involved, it's not to "tell someone how to feed their baby" but rather to provide education, and perhaps incentives, to choose to breastfeed.

Then there is the "Baby Friendly Hospital" designation, and the primary thrust of that is increasing breastfeeding rates. I don't know that there is governmental money in that, but it's certainly a nice designation to have.

sunbaby0811 · Jul 28, 2011

Thanks Lily! I have saved a little money and I think I might just sign up and take it! It's in my town in the winter, so I feel like I should take advantage of that and not need to do a hotel or major driving. Just have to figure out if I can spare a week off from my job (and what to tell them! UGH!)

And MallorieRN, I have heard of the baby friendly hospital initiative (it's a UNICEF/WHO initiative) and that encourages breastfeeding. I don't know the entire scope of the program, but it's focused on training staff about BF, not handing out free formula, rooming in, etc. Not sure what kind of incentives it brings, though, if any?! (meaning financial/tax/whatever, not talking about health benefits). I'm also not sure how many hospitals are moving towards this? (I'm new to all of this!)

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

I don't think there's any tangible incentive to the Baby Friendly Hospital designation other than making it more desirable to customers.