About the Author
Marilyn R. McFarland, PhD, RN, CTN-A, FNP-BC is a Professor, Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions and Studies, University of Michigan-Flint. Dr. McFarland earned her PhD in Nursing with a focus in Transcultural Nursing from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; Master of Science in Nursing from Wayne State with a major in Medical Surgical nursing and minors in Teaching in Nursing, Gerontological Nursing, and Transcultural Nursing; and Bachelor of Science in Nursing also from Wayne State. Her family nurse practitioner certificate was earned from Saginaw Valley State University in 2005. As a Certified Transcultural Nurse andTranscultural Nursing Author and Scholar, Dr. McFarland has been nationally and internationally recognized for her contributions to transcultural nursing by the Transcultural Nursing Society, receiving the 1993 Leininger Award for Excellence in Transcultural Nursing from the Society. She was also the 1994 Recipient of the Leininger Transcultural Nursing Award for Excellence and Creative Leadership in Transcultural Nursing and Human Care from Wayne State University, College of Nursing, Detroit, Michigan. In addition to individually publishing numerous book chapters and articles, Dr. McFarland co-authored two texts with Dr. Madeleine Leininger, Culture Care Diversity and Universality: A Worldwide Nursing Theory (2006) and Transcultural Nursing: Concepts, Theories, Research, & Practice (2002) which was the recipient of the 2003 American Journal of Nursing’s Book of the Year Award. Dr. McFarland is a past editor of the Journal of the Transcultural Nursing, a past chair of the Transcultural Nursing Certification Commission whose members developed a revised certification examination process under her guidance, has been a member of the TCNS Board, has served on numerous Society committees, and co-presented the Keynote Address with Dr. Leininger in 2011 at the 37th Annual TCNS International Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also a member of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses’ Association, the Michigan Nurses’ Association, and ANA-Michigan (formerly RN-AIM). As a career-long member of Sigma Theta Tau International, she is active in the local Pi Delta chapter based at UM-Flint. Dr. McFarland has taught at the undergraduate level in the areas of gerontology, fundamentals of nursing, and health assessment. She currently teaches nursing at the graduate level focusing on transcultural health care, advanced practice nursing role development, and graduate translational research projects. She has served on many doctoral nursing dissertation committees nationally as well as on many master’s theses committees statewide. Her clinical practice is focused on caring for the underinsured at a local health department family planning clinic. As a leader in transcultural nursing, Dr. McFarland has studied, practiced, consulted, and lectured throughout the United States and in various parts of Europe, Kenya, Taiwan, and Australia. She has conducted transcultural research studies focused on Polish, Anglo American, African American, Mexican American, and German American elders using Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Dr. McFarland recently co-participated in a metasynthesis of culture care theory research studies guided by the Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Her scholarly interests include the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), the translation of evidenced-based research into clinical practice, and the integration of transcultural nursing theory into nurse practitioner practice in diverse settings.
Hiba B. Wehbe-Alamah, PhD, RN, FNP-BC,CTN-A, is Associate Professor, Departmentof Nursing, School of Health Professionsand Studies, at the University of Michigan–Flint. Dr. Wehbe-Alamah earned her PhDand post-master’s certificate in TransculturalNursing from Duquesne University inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania; she also earnedher Master of Science in Nursing (FamilyNurse Practitioner) and Bachelor of Sciencein Nursing from Saginaw Valley StateUniversity in Saginaw, Michigan. She holdsan advanced-level certification in transculturalnursing and was recognized by the Transcultural Nursing Society(TCNS) as a Transcultural Nursing Scholar in 2011. A member of the Transcultural Nursing Society (TCNS), NationalAmerican Arab Nurses’ Association, National Organization of NursePractitioner Faculties, American Association of Nurse Practitioners,Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners, Michigan Nurses’ Association,and a career-long member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Dr. Wehbe-Alamah has presented, guest-lectured, and/or published in the UnitedStates, Australia, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Dr. Wehbe-Alamahwas actively involved in the planning and implementation of a three-yearfederally funded Nurse Education, Practice, and Retention project at theUniversity of Michigan–Flint entitled Developing Nurses’ Cultural Competencies:Evidence-Based and Best Practices. Through this project, she played a key rolein providing cultural competence training to registered nurses, advancedpractice nurses, nursing faculty, nursing students, and diverse healthcareproviders in 35 states across the United States. Dr. Wehbe-Alamah led an interdisciplinary project involving faculty andstudents from the Nursing, Computer Science, and Art departments at theUniversity of Michigan–Flint that created the first transcultural computerbasedsimulation game, CultureCopia. As a member of the TransculturalNursing Society’s Transcultural Nursing Certification Commission, sheco-developed an international online certification exam for advanced transculturalnurses and contributed test questions to the basic transculturalnursing certification exam for registered nurses. She teaches nursing at theundergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels focusing on women’s healthand transcultural health care; conducts and chairs doctoral dissertationsand capstone projects with graduate nursing students; and advises studentsenrolled in undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. Her clinicalpractice centers on women’s health and the underinsured at a local communityhealth department. Dr. Wehbe-Alamah’s scholarly and research interests include obesity;women’s health; mental health; primary care; creative teaching methodologies;computer simulation games; technology use in the academic setting;Asian, African American, and Middle Eastern health and wellbeing; healthdisparities; cultural healers and generic/folk beliefs and practices; and culturalcompetence for diverse healthcare providers, nursing students, practicingnurses, and nursing faculty.
