Interview: Israeli-American Lactation Consultant, Dr. Ilana R. Azulay Chertok, PhD, MSN, IBCLC
Yaelle Frohlich
Issue date: 12/21/09 Section: Science
Dr. Chertok is an associate professor at West Virginia University's School of Nursing (WVU SON). She has been invited to speak about her research at conferences and meetings around the world and has published much of her research in professional, peer-reviewed journals. At the 2009 International Lactation Consultant Association Conference, she presented her and her colleagues' research on the effect of early breastfeeding on neonatal glucose levels of term infants born to women with gestational diabetes.
Observer: What is your educational background, and how and why did you become involved in the fields of lactation and maternal-infant health?
Dr. Chertok: My first Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. Soon after graduating Penn, I made Aliyah with my family after experiencing a wonderful prenatal and birth experience by a nurse-midwife in Chicago. Largely resulting from the relationship with my midwife, I decided to enter the field of maternal-infant health so that I might also nurture and guide new parents. I studied to become a certified childbirth educator and lactation support person in Israel. I enjoyed the field, but felt that I wanted the ability to care for new mothers and their infants on a higher practice level and decided to return to university to study nursing.
I began nursing school in Israel, but for various reasons returned to the USA to complete my studies at Rush University in Chicago, where I earned my degree of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with honors and became a Registered Nurse (RN). My program of study was excellent; it challenged me and inspired me to venture into the world of maternal-infant health research. I also received education, training, and supervision in lactation consulting and then passed the lactation consulting boards, thereby becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Upon returning to Israel, I decided to pursue my growing passion in maternal-infant health research on a graduate level and was accepted at Beersheva's Ben-Gurion University to study in the PhD program in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health...I aspired to continue along the path of research and scholarship in the field of nursing and epidemiology/public health, so I applied and was accepted to pursue a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Washington's School of Nursing (UW SON), one of the top nursing schools, through a training grant sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)…During my first two years as a faculty member at WVU SON, I earned a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in the field of Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) so that I would have a higher level of clinical practice, thereby enriching my research potential and experience.
Observer: What is your educational background, and how and why did you become involved in the fields of lactation and maternal-infant health?
Dr. Chertok: My first Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. Soon after graduating Penn, I made Aliyah with my family after experiencing a wonderful prenatal and birth experience by a nurse-midwife in Chicago. Largely resulting from the relationship with my midwife, I decided to enter the field of maternal-infant health so that I might also nurture and guide new parents. I studied to become a certified childbirth educator and lactation support person in Israel. I enjoyed the field, but felt that I wanted the ability to care for new mothers and their infants on a higher practice level and decided to return to university to study nursing.
I began nursing school in Israel, but for various reasons returned to the USA to complete my studies at Rush University in Chicago, where I earned my degree of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with honors and became a Registered Nurse (RN). My program of study was excellent; it challenged me and inspired me to venture into the world of maternal-infant health research. I also received education, training, and supervision in lactation consulting and then passed the lactation consulting boards, thereby becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Upon returning to Israel, I decided to pursue my growing passion in maternal-infant health research on a graduate level and was accepted at Beersheva's Ben-Gurion University to study in the PhD program in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health...I aspired to continue along the path of research and scholarship in the field of nursing and epidemiology/public health, so I applied and was accepted to pursue a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Washington's School of Nursing (UW SON), one of the top nursing schools, through a training grant sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)…During my first two years as a faculty member at WVU SON, I earned a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in the field of Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) so that I would have a higher level of clinical practice, thereby enriching my research potential and experience.
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