Clinical Pathways
IBLCE requires that students complete lactation-specific clinical practice hours in order to become certified. There are three ways to complete this requirement and they are known as the three Pathways. Our program offers a Pathway 2 Lactation Practicum to meet this requirement.
Our Lactation Training program has been suspended and we will not be accepting new students for the next few years . Students who have completed our Lactation Education courses can apply for our Pathway 2 Lactation Practicum for the 2025-2026 academic year from April 14th until 5 pm on May 16th, 2025. See our Admissions page for that application timeline
Review the different pathways below to determine which pathway is right for you as you obtain your clinical lactation experience.
Pathway 1
Designed for for those working or volunteering in breastfeeding care already.
Hours Required:
1,000 hours of clinical experience are required
Pathway Participation:
Health professionals and breastfeeding peer counselors who are already working with breastfeeding families, and can obtain their clinical experience hours through their paid or volunteer work. This pathway allows you to obtain clinical experience hours through a number of different sites.
Required supervision:
You must have a supervisor at each site who can confirm that you obtained the clinical experience, but the supervisor does not have to be an IBCLC.
Pathway 2
Designed for students who want to participate in an academic lactation training program that provides clinical lactation experience. Students must apply and be admitted to the Pathway 2 Lactation Practicum in order to obtain clinical lactation experience.
Pathway Participation:
Students admitted to the PSU Pathway 2 program or any other IBLCE Pathway 2 program will obtain their clinical experience through that academic training program. Pathway 2 programs are required to provide a variety of clinical experiences for students under IBCLC supervision.
The PSU Pathway 2 Program is a limited entry program, and students must apply and be accepted. Students can apply when they have completed the IBLCE Health Science Education requirements and a complete Lactation Education course series. Students in the PSU Pathway 2 program will need to complete Lactation Practicum course series to meet the clinical hours requirement.
Required Supervision:
In Pathway 2 clinical experience programs students are directly supervised by experienced IBCLCs.
Pathway 3
Designed for those who already have an IBCLC mentor who can supervise and provide clinical experience.
Hours Required:
500 hours of clinical experience
Pathway Participation:
Students who can make a mentorship agreement with an IBCLC mentor to provide supervision and clinical experience. The student and IBCLC mentor must complete a mentorship contract and have it approved by IBLCE before any clinical experience begins. Many mentor IBCLCs will require payment of some form for the contracted clinical experience hours. The program does not provide mentor IBCLCs for Pathway 3.
Required Supervision:
The IBCLC mentor provides direct supervision for the student.
Obtaining Your Lactation Clinical Experience
Watch our short video to understand the steps needed to complete your lactation clinical experience, and learn more about the differences between our 3 experience pathways.
“I’m so glad I did Pathway 2 — [I was] able to experience different hospitals, different clinics, different practice perspective.”
Have Questions About Our Program?
Request Information
Contact lactation@pdx.edu or schedule an appointment with our lactation advisors if you have more questions or would like to receive more information about our program.
Begin PSU Application Process
PSU Pathway 2 Clinical Lactation Experience
PSU offers a Pathway 2 Lactation Practicum that provides 300 hours of clinical lactation experience directly supervised by IBCLCs in a variety of clinical settings in the region where a student lives if possible.
Students also attend weekly virtual clinical skills classes taught our Clinical Instructor so they can share their clinical experiences and enhance their learning.
“Working consecutive days showed how impactful a 15–20-minute conversation can have on a family over the course of their stay.”
“[I’m] surprised how far I’ve come in 6 months; in the beginning I couldn’t imagine being on my own but look where I am now!”