Nursing is my professional life of 45 years (1960- present). It does not seem possible to convey in the one word ‘nursing’ both the depth and breadth of experience, perspective and responsibility that is contained in my profession. Move quickly away from the image of bedpan and injections into the world of walking with others in their lived experience of illness and how they manage and derive meaning within the context of their suffering, and then moving oneself into the open position of empathy so another is more able to confront and accept their situation is closer to the truth of it. As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and faculty for graduate students I found that becoming unstuck from ones beliefs and perspective was key to the ongoing movement into health and wholeness.I retired from Oregon Health & Science University as an associate professor and associate dean of students emeritus and took a teaching position for two years (2003-2005) at a private college of nursing in Tokyo, where - speaking no Japanese and not required to attend faculty meetings, I was at peace to reflect and re-pattern. It was at the international conference north of Tokyo that I happened upon Dr. Je Kan Adler-Collins in the Action Research workshop. I was so happy to have someone to converse with in English that I offered to do some dissertation editing for him. I had strong convictions about his topic and felt it was critical that he complete his work. It was through working with him on his dissertation that I became acquainted with the various and stimulating philosophies of action research and work of Jack Whitehead.
I am excited about the review process. In my early work (circa 1970’s) with the ‘self-help’ movement and women’s health in Hawaii I began focusing on a more transparent and egalitarian process as critical to learning. In the early 1980’s I was the Maternal-Child Coordinator for the Federated States of Micronesia (pop.70,000) where I began to acknowledge my ubiquitous ethnocentricity. Returning to Oregon USA after 18 months I continued my PhD in Urban Studies (social patterns and organizational development), which built upon my two master’s degrees: public health (maternal child health) and psychiatric-mental health nursing, finishing in 1992. I co-authored the first holistic nursing book in the USA (out of print) Women’s Health and Human Wholeness - Appleton-Century-Croft, 1979 and have several other publications, the latest in 2007 co-authored with a Japanese doctoral student. I am also a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner and Instructor conducting workshops in Hawaii and Japan. I am on the editorial review board for Nursing and Health Science.
