“My roles as nurse, educator, researcher, and mentor impact many cultures and communities and established a solid trajectory of addressing emerging issues in transcultural nursing. My degrees in Anthropology (BA) and Nursing (BSN, MSN, PhD) influenced my worldview. There is synergy between anthropology and nursing; both share a holistic outlook, practice is based on theory, and there is mutual concern for the human condition. I learned of ETNA in 2013 and immediately joined.
I believe that nurses have the responsibility to provide holistic, therapeutic, and safe patient-centered care based on respect for cultural beliefs, values and practices, human dignity, and social justice. As a nurse, my focus has primarily been on reproductive health, pediatric health and genetics/genomics. My work has had a positive and lasting impact on healthcare by embracing cultural diversity, culturally competent care, and valuing the nurse-patient relationship.
As an educator, I believe that it is our responsibility to extend our reach beyond the campus and the classroom. Over the years, I have taken nursing students on numerous study-abroad opportunities, which broadened their perspective about nursing practice and nursing education. My teaching incorporates the impact of culturally congruent care, social justice, fairness, and ethical considerations, all of which I hold dear. As an example, I was awarded the Elise Joseph Foundation Community Service Award for Service to the Haitian and Haitian American Community for instilling in my students the importance of culture care.
My greatest scholarship contributions have been toward the improvement of outcomes in maternal/child health, the advancement of genetics/genomics, advocacy for the healthcare needs of immigrant and underserved populations, and nursing leadership. Locally, my project, Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Guidelines for Homeless Service Agencies and Shelters, was adopted by the health department in my county to provide healthcare to homeless persons with tuberculosis. My innovative research with Ethiopian immigrants, notably the only nursing research in the U.S. of Ethiopian immigrants using Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality, impacts health policy and practice globally and has been cited by researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the U.S., and Scandinavia. This research has improved patient care to diverse populations through culturally competent care, advocacy, and patient education.
I have been a mentor since 2017 and have had the honor of mentoring Pakistani, Australian, Nigerian (in the U.K.) and Chinese (in the U.K.) nurses and nursing faculty. Although I was the mentor in these relationships, I learned as much, if not more, from my wonderful, dynamic, dedicated, and brilliant mentees. This global mentor-mentee relationship has been one of the highlights of my career.
As a result of the influence of my work, I have been inducted as a Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and as a Fellow of the Transcultural Nursing Society Scholars. Membership in ETNA and TCNS, and my certification in Transcultural Nursing, attests to my commitment to the nursing profession and to culturally competent and equitable healthcare for all.”