Trudi Szallasi Memorial Scholarship

Applications for this scholarship open on March 1st, 2012 and close on May 16th, 2012. 
The successful applicant will be announced on June 6, 2012.

Our friend and colleague, Trudi Szallasi, was an online tutor with Health e-Learning from August 2005 until her untimely death from breast cancer in June 2008. Trudi was totally committed to helping mothers and babies to have a successful and happy breastfeeding relationship. She was a volunteer breastfeeding counselor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association, served as a Director on the National Board and held the role of State president for 2 years. After qualifying as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Trudi began a private practice, and ultimately became the President of the local branch of the Australian Lactation Consultant’s Association. In the year Trudi qualified as an IBCLC she gained the highest marks in the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners examination, and was subsequently invited onto the IBLCE examination committee for the review of the following year’s exam.

She left behind three beautiful young children, a devoted husband and loving parents, brothers and their families, and countless friends.

Health e-Learning, by the awarding of this scholarship, is seeking to honour the memory of a truly remarkable and wonderful woman who made a great contribution to the mothers and babies in her care, the students of lactation who she taught, and the lactation world.

What the scholarship covers

Full fees for:

• IH03: Child Development
• AP03: Critical Appraisal of Research
• BE01 - BE10: BreastEd Program (120 hr program)
• ET01: Ethics for Lactation Consultants
• Lactation Exam Practice in year sitting the IBLCE examination
• Online mentoring with an experienced Lactation Consultant

Selection Criteria

The applicant:

• must have an intention to sit the IBLCE examination within the two years following the year the scholarship is awarded. (ie 2013 or 2014)
• must meet all IBLCE stated prerequisites to sit the IBLCE examination within the two years following the year the scholarship was awarded. (Important addit: Please refer to IBLCE website to view the exam pre-requisites. The scholarship does NOT cover the college-level courses that must be completed.)
• must be prepared to pay the IBLCE examination fee when it becomes due.
• will provide written agreement to IBLCE to release your examination results to Health e-Learning.
• must have a computer that is connected to the internet and have sufficient computer skills to participate in online learning.
• must be sufficiently fluent in the English language to study these programs, read research papers and text books.

The scholarship is open internationally. Preference will be given to an applicant who is or was a mother-to-mother breastfeeding counselor with a recognized volunteer peer counseling service (for example: La Leche League, Australian Breastfeeding Association, National Childbirth Trust, etc)

Application

• The application form can be downloaded from this site from March 1st, 2012.
• When you have completed the application form email it, with your referee's recommendation and proof of your status as a volunteer breastfeeding counselor, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Agreement

It is expected that the successful applicant will agree to:

• Purchase, or have access to, one or more of the latest edition of the major comprehensive lactation texts.
• Pay the IBLCE examination fee when it becomes due.
• Make a firm commitment to spend at least 15 hours per BreastEd course and at least 5 hours for the Ethics course to study the course content and complete the activities prior to the Early Deadline for Exam Application in the year you sit.
• Complete the practice exams in Lactation Exam Practice.
• Participate in the online forums that accompany each of the online courses and Lactation Exam Practice.
• Establish regular contact by email or Skype with the online mentor assigned to you.
• Apply the knowledge learned as you work with mothers and babies, discussing your clinical experiences with your clinical mentor and your online mentor.