Welcome to the UCSF Center for Global Nursing (and Advanced Practice)

at the Institute for Global Health Sciences.



In this newsletter, you can expect to find opportunities, events, and other information about UCSF nurses, advanced practice providers, and our global partners working toward global health solutions.

🌍✨ Join the Center for Global Nursing in celebrating International Nurses Day in May! ✨🌍

Mark your calendars for May 7th, 2025 as we celebrate the invaluable contributions that nurses make in healthcare across the globe. During this event, we will enjoy speakers, networking, presentation of awards, and a raffle. You do not want to miss this chance to come together to celebrate with this community.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

🗓️ Date: Wednesday, May 7th, 2025

⏰ Time: 4 PM - 6 PM PST

📍 Location: Mission Hall 1400

Nurses and advanced practice providers play a pivotal role in improving global population health. CGN's Global Nursing Impact Series offers a platform to highlight their leadership and impact in advancing health equity and to promote collaboration on these initiatives. Each session will feature a 20-minute presentation by invited speakers, followed by a Q&A.*

The lecture series is held virtually on the second Tuesday of each month and starts promptly at 7:00 am - 7:30 am PST/4:00 pm - 4:30 pm CEST.

This month, UCSF's own Simone Ippoliti, MSN, RN, will present how La Charla, a peer-led health education nonprofit in rural Nicaragua, exemplifies the transformative power of collective action in advancing sustainable global health initiatives. By exploring its principles and outcomes, the discussion will underscore the pivotal role of community empowerment in fostering culturally responsive and long-lasting improvements in global health.

Use the link below to register for CGN's upcoming Global Nursing Impact Series on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025

7:00 am - 7:30 am PST/4:00 pm - 4:30 pm CEST.

*The series is open to UCSF faculty, students, staff, global partners, and professionals interested in the field of global health.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming CGN Community Meeting and Journal Club on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, from 12:10 to 1:00 PM PST. CGN Director Dr. Rebecca Silvers will share updates on exciting new projects and collaborations. Tune in to hear about our progress and plans for the future!

Following the center updates, CGN member David Alfon will lead the Journal Club discussion. Engage with peers as we explore the following article:

Kavita, Kavita; Thakur, Jarnail Singh1; Ghai, Sandhya; Narang, Tarun2; Kaur, Rajbir1. Nurse-led interventions for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Noncommunicable Diseases 8(1):p 4-13, Jan–Mar 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/jncd.jncd_74_22 

CGN is excited to announce our 2025 Cultural Humility Course dates! 🌍

This engaging course is designed for UCSF nurses and advanced practice providers seeking to develop skills in cultural humility, address personal biases, and foster more respectful, equitable partnerships. Participants will gain valuable tools to enhance cross-cultural collaboration and reduce power imbalances, making it an essential resource for advancing inclusive practices in global nursing.

📅 2025 Course Dates:

• March 11, 2025 | 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM PST
• April 8, 2025 | 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM PST
• October 21, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST
• November 4, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST

In January, the Center for Global Nursing had the privilege of hosting Dr. Address Malata, Vice-Chancellor of Malawi University of Science and Technology, for an inspiring Lunch & Learn session!

Dr. Malata shared her insights on “Nursing and Midwifery in Africa: A Case for Malawi,” emphasizing the transformative role of nurses and midwives in reducing maternal mortality in Malawi. She also explored the challenges faced by nurses and midwives in the areas of education, regulation, and research, and called for concerted efforts to advance nursing education and leadership. Dr. Malata concluded with her vision for the future of nursing in Malawi, focusing on empowering the profession to drive meaningful change.

Following her presentation, Dr. Malata met with the UCSF School of Nursing faculty at an afternoon tea event.

CGN is deeply grateful to Dr. Malata for sharing her expertise and for her dedication to uplifting nurses and midwives as drivers of change in global health.

Couldn’t make it to the event? You can watch the recording online to gain valuable perspectives from Dr. Malata's presentation.

Over the course of 12 virtual sessions, the CGN Certificate in Global Nursing Program provides participants with an in-depth understanding of foundational concepts in global health sciences, including global nursing practice, health systems, cultural humility, and equitable partnerships. 

We’re excited to begin this incredible journey with our students and look forward to the next 11 sessions filled with deep learning, collaboration, and insight.

Throughout the course, students will explore key global nursing frameworks, health systems, and the principles of cultural humility. Students will learn how to analyze health disparities, strengthen health systems, and foster equitable partnerships in diverse settings. Led by renowned experts from UCSF and across the globe, this course will equip students with the tools they need to create sustainable global health solutions.

We’re thrilled to see the impact this cohort will have as they gain the knowledge and skills to drive positive change in healthcare systems worldwide!

Stay tuned for more updates as they continue their journey.

The Global Nursing Scholars Program offers UCSF nurses and advanced practice providers a unique opportunity to gain international experience by collaborating with global partners to improve nursing care quality in Eldoret, Kenya.

Meet CGN's Spring 2025 Clinical Global Scholars:

Erin Brenner, MSN, RN

Registered Nurse | UCSF Health

Amada Apacible DNPc, RN, FNP-BC

Nurse Practitioner | UCSF Health

Natasha Curry MSN, RN

Nurse Practitioner | UCSF Health

Erin Carrera, BSN, RN, MBA

Registered Nurse | UCSF Health

Michele Mullin, BSN, RN

Registered Nurse | UCSF Health

David Alfon, MSN, RN

Unit Director, Central Resource Group | UCSF Health

Dianne Georgetti, MSN, AGPCNP-c, PHN

Nurse Practitioner | UCSF Health

CGN would like to share an opportunity to participate in a survey aiming to characterize the global neurosurgical nursing workforce with a specific focus on gaining an overview of the demographics, education, and clinical training available for nurses, along with the status of nursing practice including resources and equipment available. ​​​​​​​

If you work with patients before or after neurosurgery, we kindly ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. 

Please consider sharing this survey with your nursing colleagues and encourage their participation.

GICS Wound Care Survey

Pediatric Wound Care Survey

The following survey is an attempt to find out how best nurses care for Pediatric Acute and Chronic Surgical Wounds in your countries. This survey is designed to collect evidence from nurses about wound care.

This survey is brief and should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

The results of this survey will be used to create evidence-based guidelines and recommendations that can be used by nurses around the world to improve wound care for children.

Your input is essential in making this happen, and I hope you will take the time to participate.

Your responses will be kept anonymous, and your participation is completely voluntary.

The results of this survey will be published on the website of the Global Initiative for Children's Surgery (GICS) and the International Society of Pediatric Wound Care (ISPWC). By participating in this survey, you will be helping to improve wound care for children everywhere.

Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

Comrade Lawal-AIYEDUN Olubunmi, Chairman GICS Nursing.

David Alfon MSN, RN, FNP-BC

Unit Director, Central Resource Group | UCSF Health

David is the Unit Director for the Central Resource Group at UCSF Health. David has worked with UCSF in a variety of capacities in the past 5 years: first as a travel nurse in the 8/11 Neuroscience ICU, a staff nurse with the UCSF Adult Critical Care Resource Team, and the AUD for Mount Zion 4-West ICU. At the Center for Global Nursing, David has participated as a facilitator for both the CGN Introduction Cultural Humility course and the Journal Club.

David has 18 years of nursing practice experience and has been active in innovation and technology, global health, and continuous process improvement. He completed his nurse residencies in the Surgical ICU at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Emergency Department at Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles. He attended Duke University School of Nursing for graduate studies in nursing informatics and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions for dual post-master training as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Emergency Nurse Practitioner.

David started his career in international humanitarian aid and refugee health, working with non-governmental organizations in Switzerland, Egypt, and Turkey. He maintains specialty board certifications in critical care, emergency, neuroscience, stroke, informatics, and advanced executive leadership nursing, as well as advanced practice provider certifications in family and emergency medicine.

CGN Travel Award Members Erin Brenner and Ruth Palmeri Returned from Tanzania!

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital nurses and CGN members Erin and Ruth recently traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where they joined nurse leaders at Muhimbili National Hospital to help design the country’s first-ever certificate program in perioperative nursing.

To kick off their visit, Erin and Ruth met with CGN partners Nira Matunda and John Meshack to connect with the hospital leadership at Muhimnili. They received a warm welcome from the Tanzanian team and toured Muhimbili’s facilities, including 18 operating theaters across its main hospital, pediatric hospital, and central sterile processing department.

The collaboration focuses on addressing critical challenges in surgical care, such as inconsistent training and variability in perioperative practices. Over the course of 18 weeks, this perioperative certificate program will provide students with specialized training in preoperative assessment, intraoperative techniques, and postoperative care. These efforts aim to establish standardized practices, enhance patient safety, and improve surgical outcomes across Tanzania.

Join us in celebrating this impactful milestone in global health and nursing education as we continue fostering partnerships to advance surgical care worldwide.

Funding and Global Opportunities

CGN's Global Nursing Research Seed Award offers UCSF Center for Global Nursing members the opportunity to propel their research ideas through financial support. Selected awardees will receive up to $10,000 USD to cover travel, lodging, visa, foreign nursing license, study materials, or cost of labor. Applications from novice nurse researchers are highly encouraged. 

This award aims to: 

• Foster the spirit of clinical inquiry in global health
• Support early investigator nurse/APP researchers 
• Strengthen and expand partnerships between CGN members and global collaborators 

Focus area: 

• Advance quality improvement strategies that address health disparities in low-resource settings through nurse-led initiatives 
• Promote the integration of research into clinical practice by supporting nurse-led projects 
• Facilitate collaboration between nurse researchers and global partners to develop sustainable quality improvement initiatives 

Award Eligibility:

• Applicants must be a UCSF nurse or APP and CGN member
• The proposed project must be a global nursing research project that addresses health equity challenges in a local or global setting(s)
• We strongly encourage multiple PIs and the inclusion of a PI from the host site or community

CGN is committed to supporting our members as they engage in meaningful global health work. Apply now and take the next step in your global health journey!

Qualtrics Application Process:

1. Complete the application questionnaire
2. Provide an invitation letter to work abroad
3. Attach your CV or resumé 

Our next application review date is March 31st, 2025. Apply now!



Applications are evaluated based on the project's sustainability and efforts to collaborate with local partners.

Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) is the only hospital in northern Laos that provides specialty pediatric care, offering free services to underserved families in the region. It focuses on improving access to essential health services while supporting sustainable healthcare through training local providers. Volunteering offers a meaningful way to contribute to the hospital's mission and make a difference in children's lives.

Lao Friends Hospital for Children accepts applications for medical and nursing volunteers throughout the year. All individuals interested in volunteering should be able to spend two months at LFHC during their first visit. Anyone interested is welcome to send their resumes to hr@fwablaos.org.

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