Introducing myself

My name is Marlene Wark, and I am a Registered Nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  I am somewhat technology challenged, so pursuing a degree in Education for Healthcare Professionals is blasting me out of my complacency and into the 21st century.

I was born and raised in Houston, and I have never lived anywhere else.  I have been married to my husband, Pat, for 25 years, and I have two children.  Valerie is 22 and Christopher is 20.  I am working as a lactation consultant in a clinic called The Lactation Foundation, which is the breastfeeding support center for WIC in Houston.  I spent most of my working years in hospitals, taking care of mothers and babies throughout the labor, birth and post-partum experience.  I developed a passion for breastfeeding, and I have been working in that area for about 19 of my 27 years as a nurse.  I believe that one of my best credentials is having two children that never, ever tasted formula.

In my current job, I not only teach mothers and babies how to breastfeed, but I also teach WIC staff, nurses and medical residents about breastfeeding when they rotate through our clinic.  I want to be a more effective educator, so I hope that completing this Master's program will help me achieve that.  I also have some hope that this may lead me into a PhD program which would enable me to teach in a nursing school to finish out my career.