Dr. Marilyn A. Ray, nurse scholar and retired United States Air Force (USAF) veteran and former flight nurse, began her nursing scholarship in Canada. She was influenced by the experiences and interprofessional scholarly ideas that she encountered along her career trajectory. Her early love of the air and space led her to the United States Air Force Nurse Corps, where she served as a flight nurse during the Vietnam war era, followed by leadership positions in nursing education, administration, practice, and research. Dr. Ray's contributions to nursing knowledge includes two nursing theories and a caring inquiry methodology. Dr. Ray is helping to create a new caring science certificate program at Florida Atlantic University, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. In this column, Dr. Ray shares the story of her scholarly influences and how they helped her care for her husband and gain insight into her contributions to nursing knowledge development.
Keywords: bureaucratic caring theory; caring inquiry methodology; nursing knowledge; transcultural nursing.