Lactation Consultant: Pathway 1

Please see How to Become a Lactation Consultant and How to Choose the Right Pathway

Pathway 1 Candidates: The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lactation program for Pathway 1 is 120 hours of didactic education which meets the IBLCE lactation course requirement for the IBLCE exam. The general education requirement must be completed before the start of Pathway 1.  The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lactation program recommends but does not require that all Pathway 1 applicants have met the clinical requirements (1000 hours) of the IBLCE before taking the Pathway 1 education. These requirements can be reviewed at IBLCE.org. All Pathway 1 candidates will sign a memorandum of understanding stating that the candidate is responsible for meeting the clinical and professional educational requirements of the IBLCE.

Pathway 1:  Offered every quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer)
UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Pathway 1 education course is 2 quarters in length (~6 months)

UCSD Diego Division of Extended Studies Pathway 1 program and IBLCE Exam Application and test dates:

• Fall/Winter Quarter: IBLCE application due May and IBLCE test date is September
• Winter/Spring Quarter: IBLCE application due May and IBLCE test date is September

• Spring/Summer Quarter: IBLCE application due November and IBLCE test date is April
• Summer/Fall Quarter: IBLCE application due November and IBLCE test date is April

Pathway 1 Candidates: The general education requirement must be completed BEFORE the start of the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lactation Pathway 1 program. The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lactation program recommends but does not require that all Pathway 1 applicants have met the clinical requirements (1000 hours) of the IBLCE before taking the Pathway 1 education.

1. General Education Requirement: Licensed, Registered or Recognized Health Professional OR has the 8 college courses AND 6 CEU courses as described at IBLCE.org. In the IBLCE Exam application, you will be required to identify your health profession and you may be required to submit a copy of your license, registration, diploma or transcript.

Health professionals include: physicians, nurses, midwives, dietitians, occupational, physical and speech therapists, physician assistants, dentists, pharmacists and chiropractors. If your profession is not on this list, please see IBLCE.org for more information about whether or not your professional training will satisfy the general education requirements.

When applying to the program, candidates must demonstrate completion of these courses by submitting documentation from accredited colleges or universities.

2. Clinical Hours Requirement: Working in a paid or volunteer job in which you provide care to breastfeeding families and can document a minimum of 1000 hours working directly with moms and babies and breastfeeding. Documentation must be verifiable by a supervisor and must be completed within a 5 year period prior to submitting an application to take the exam.  For more information about how to calculate the clinical practice hours required by Pathway 1, please see IBLCE.org.

 

Instructions for Calculating Lactation-Specific Clinical Care Hours:

Download Calculation Form.

• Column 4: The number of months you worked on each job
• Column 5: If you worked every week of the month, please enter 4 in this column. If you worked 2 weeks each month, please enter 2 in this column.
• Column 6: This is Column 4 x Column 5
• Column 7: If you worked full time, please enter the number of hours considered full-time for that job. If you worked part-time, please enter the number of hours, on average,that you worked each week.
• Column 8: This is Column 6 x Column 7
• Column 9: The percentage of time, on average, that you spent helping breastfeeding families. Please use this guide: Peds/OB/Family Practice Office 5%, L&D 5%, Post-Partum Nurse 20%, NICU 10%, Peer Counselor 80%, Employed as CLEC 80%.
• Column 10: This is Column 8 x Column 9

See IBLCE Health Sciences Education Requirements

If you are not a licensed, registered, or recognized health professional, you will be required to submit proof of completion of the 8 academic course and 6 CEU courses as described by the IBLCE.org. These course must be form an accredited college or university.

Health professionals include: physicians, nurses, midwives, dietitians, occupational, physical and speech therapists, physician assistants, dentists, pharmacists and chiropractors. If your profession is not on this list, please see IBLCE.org for more information about whether or not your professional training will satisfy the general education requirements.

1. 8 College Subjects: Must be from an accredited college or university and at least one academic term in length. Candidates must have received a passing grade in each course.

• Biology
• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• Nutrition
• Introduction to Research
• Psychology or Counseling or Communication Skills
• Sociology or Cultural Sensitivity or Cultural Anthropology
• Infant and Child Growth and Development

• Medical Ethics for Allied Health Professionals (1.5 hours) FPM-40675 ($295)
• Fundamentals of Infection Prevention (12 hours) FPM-40577 ($129)
• Medical Documentation (1.5 hours) FPM-40676 ($295)
• Medical Clinical Terminology (18 hours) FPM-40632 ($295)
• Occupational Safety & Security (10 hours) FPM-40554 ($225)
• Basic Life Support CPR for Medical Personnel - generally taken through the American Heart Association

2023 March 8 - 17: IBLCE Exam: 
Apply for IBLCE Exam: October 21 - December 5, 2022

2023 September 20 -29: IBLCE Exam:
Apply for IBLCE Exam: May 10 - June 22, 2023
 

To enroll into a class, click on the class link in the matrix and that will take you to that class page. There you can find a course description, prerequisites, and the start date for that course. To enroll in the course click on “Add to Cart” which will lead you to complete the registration/payment process.

Online courses are asynchronous. Students do not need to meet at a specific time online, but will need to log in each week to view the lessons, participate in course discussion, and complete and submit coursework/quizzes/tests.

You will have access to an online class on the official start date of the class. Access will be available at 7:30am Pacific Time. Enrollment to online classes can take up to 24 hours to process and sync with our online classroom platform. For example, if a class started on Tuesday and that is the day a student enrolled, they will likely not have full access to the class until 24 hours later on Wednesday.