Building Blocks for a Career in Global Health.

Katherine Rice, RN
Nurse Practitioner Student 2020 at MGH IHP 

12/21/2019

This is my second year attending the COE Global Health Symposium and I was once again inspired by the enthusiasm and interest from participants of all backgrounds. Through the keynote speaker Dr. Scott Allen and the break out session on Indian Health Services and Community Health, it’s becoming clearer that creating a career centered on global health is a personal process with no single path. Global health careers can vary widely and do not have to be specifically international. There are opportunities domestically in immigration, Indian Health Services, Community Health Centers that overlap with the many of the foundations and advocacy roles of global health. This speaks to the breadth and broad dimensions of what makes of a career in global health and this year it made me stop and reassess what a global health career might look like for me.

A Mobile Medical Unit on the Rosebud Indian
Reservation in SD where clinicians are trying to
provide access to remote communities. 

I think for that reason it is worth it for students and professionals to attend this symposium because there is networking and valuable connections made here that provide new guidance and stepping points for those beginning careers in global health. It’s a space for those wondering how to get started to ask questions from those who have paved the road in their own global health careers.

Two objectives formed for me specifically from this symposium this year. I am coming from a nursing background and we are underrepresented at this Global Health Symposium. I would like to get the nursing community at the IHP more motivated to be involved in this symposium in the future and join the conversation about pursuing global health careers.

Secondly, I did a clinical rotation at Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota this summer and continuing involvement with the Indian Health Services (IHS) could be a pathway in my global health career that allows me to focus on some domestic issues. In the breakout session surrounding IHS we discussed there are many health disparities that exist in this setting that healthcare providers working there are well positioned to pursue social justice and advocacy while providing care to this population.