Dr. Norma Cuellar, immediate past president of NAHN, received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from University of Southern Mississippi, her masters degree in nursing from Louisiana Health Sciences Center, and her doctorate of science in nursing from University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a post doctoral fellowship from the University of Virginia in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Her clinical background began in coronary care ICU in 1984. Since then, she has practiced in a variety of health care settings including home health, incarceration, school health, and long term care facilities.
Dr. Cuellar has taught since 1989 in a variety of nursing programs. Her focus in teaching has been leadership, research, gerontology, and sleep.
Currently the editor in chief of the Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Dr. Cuellar has published in peer review journals as well as several book chapters related to her research area: Restless Legs Syndrome, Sleep, Complementary and Alternative Health Care. Her primary focus has been on Cultural Diversity. She is serving as the president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (2018-2020). She is currently funded with the All of Us Research program with NIH in collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She has received over $300,000 in funding to promote awareness of the initiative in health care providers of Latinos and the Latino community.
Dr. Cuellar is also the program director for the HRSA BAMA-L grant. In collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, 80 Latino nurses with associate degree programs will be admitted to the CCNs RN to BSN program. Not only is this an academic program but a program that focuses on leadership development. Students are expected to develop as future leaders in collaboration with mentorship from NAHN.
In the past, Dr. Cuellar has received NIH funding for a randomized, clinical trial to study the use of valerian, an herb used to promote sleep, in persons with Restless Legs Syndrome. She has also examined the impact of RLS in persons with type 2 diabetes and has been funded to study the implication of genetics in persons with RLS and type 2 diabetes.
Read Dr. Cuellar's CV here CV here to learn more.