Center for Global Nursing

The Center for Global Nursing (CGN) brings together nurses and advanced practice providers with faculty and students to explore global health solutions.

Our aims include:

1. Serve as the central hub for all nursing research, education and programming in the field of global health sciences at UCSF.
2. Build pathways and cultivate opportunities for UCSF nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs) to engage in global health initiatives under our three pillars of education, partnership and research.
3. Promote nursing and interdisciplinary collaboration at the Institute for Global Health Sciences, across UCSF, and with our global partners.
4. Provide advocacy for nursing and APPs globally through meaningful collaboration and partnerships.

Current Work

Education

We provide educational opportunities for UCSF nurses, advanced practice providers, nursing faculty and students interested in exploring the field of global health sciences.

CGN’s Introduction to Cultural Humility

We provide this three-hour course as an introductory exploration of cultural humility within the context of nursing, advanced practice and global health sciences. This course raises awareness of personal biases and offers tools to reduce power imbalances and optimize cross-cultural collaboration. After this training, participants can apply the principles of cultural humility in their approach to global health collaborations to create more equitable partnerships.

See upcoming training dates and register (Nursing Connect login required)

Programming and Partnerships

Global Action in Nursing (GAIN)

Led by Kim Baltzell, PhD, MS, RN, the GAIN project aims to prevent maternal and infant complications and death during childbirth by increasing the number of nurses and midwives and providing clinical and leadership training to those working in high-risk communities in Liberia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone, and in Memphis, Tennessee.

AMPATH Consortium Nursing Team

The AMPATH Consortium is a network of academic health centers that aims to foster long-term, equitable, cross-cultural partnerships with host health centers and universities serving populations with significant unmet needs. Each institution brings its perspective and opportunities for nursing trainee exchange programs and hands-on education in the United States, Canada, and globally.

Our faculty and staff have joined the AMPATH consortium nursing team, collaborating with Kenyan nurses and consortium nurses to share knowledge, provide training, and support quality improvement efforts to advance nursing care in western Kenya. The nursing team aims to strengthen nurses globally by building capacity in practice, education and research.

CGN leadership and members participate in:

• AMPATH Nurse Mentorship Program: A new program led by O’brien Kyololo, MD, at Moi School of Nursing and Midwifery for nurses and APP, this program focuses on one-on-one virtual mentorship that supports Kenyan nurse leaders to engage in clinical research or quality improvement projects.
• First AMPATH Global Nursing Scientific Conference in Eldoret, Kenya, May 16 – 17, 2024: The AMPATH nursing team is hosting its first scientific conference to support nursing development and share scientific knowledge.

Partners in Health

The Center for Global Nursing works with Partners in Health to support a 3-year post-graduate training program for emergency nurse practitioners (ENP) at the University Hospital of Mirebalais in Haiti. The partnership’s main objective is to address the issue of insufficient and non-specialized nursing staff and contribute to the advancement of emergency care in Haiti. The program will support the development of the disaster and mass casualty alert system and help train emergency providers.

Center for Global Nursing APP members share their expertise in emergency medicine by mentoring the students and hosting lectures throughout the training.

IGHS and Bixby Center Equitable Partnership Initiative

We joined other IGHS centers and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health to work together on the Equitable Global Health Partnerships Initiative, which aims to reimagine how global health partners collaborate. This initiative focuses on promoting equity in global health partnerships by ensuring that the voices of our global health partners are heard.

Five working groups are involved in the initiative, and the CGN is co-leading the education, training and mentorship working group. This group is collaborating with UCSF and global partners to develop tools that support the development and evaluation of equitable clinical exchanges across the globe.

Our Community

The Center for Global Nursing is open to all nurses, APPs, nursing faculty and students interested or engaged in learning and collaboration in global health sciences. All are welcome to participate in our quarterly meetings, journal club, special events and educational offerings.

Our members have a range of experiences and expertise and are prepared to join nursing and interdisciplinary global health initiatives at UCSF.

Interested in becoming a member of the Center for Global Nursing? Please register.

You can also join our email list to receive our monthly newsletter filled with opportunities, events and other information geared toward nurses and advanced practice practitioners working to improve global health.