Mary Brambilla McFarland was born and raised in Boston, MA. She was educated at the Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing (diploma, 1960); Boston College (B.S., 1965); University of Pennsylvania (M.S., 1967); and Portland State University (Ed.D., 1989). McFarland was on staff at Mass General from 1960-67, Clinical Nurse Specialist at the University of Minnesota Hospital from 1967-70, and Assistant Professor of Nursing at Columbus College School of Nursing in Georgia in 1970. She was Assistant Professor, Professor, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Executive Associate Dean, and Director of Undergraduate Studies at University of Oregon Health Sciences Center School of Nursing, 1975-2000. She retired as Professor Emerita in 2000 and briefly came out of retirement to serve as Director of International Programs at OHSU from 2006-2007. McFarland talks about her nursing education and how she became one of the first trained clinical nurse specialists. She talks about her early career at University of Minnesota, Columbus College, and the University of Hawaii. She discusses the research she conducted on teaching methods and the use of audiovisual materials in the classroom. She talks about the leadership styles and notable achievements of two former School of Nursing deans, Carol Lindeman and Kathleen Potempa.