A Global Village

I got to see basically everything in the textbooks come to life,” said recently graduated MDE Global student Gabriela Mesa Jonassen, MS ’24, of her rotation in Nairobi, Kenya. “I also practiced more skills than I could have imagined.”

In 2024, Columbia Nursing marked the beginning of the 10th anniversary of its Global Student Clinical Program, with 37 students doing rotations at 11 sites worldwide. Since 2014, over 300 Columbia Nursing students have had their eyes opened to the multitude of ways of delivering care compassionately and equitably worldwide. 

They’ve bathed and examined newborns. Coped with a nationwide physician strike. Cared for patients with leprosy. Participated in cultural rituals. Taken part in a naming ceremony for a seven-day-old infant. Helped a first-time mom figure out breastfeeding. Changed dressings on a badly burned child. Learned from supervising nurses and midwives how to transcend resource limitations. All while navigating language barriers.

“By stepping out of my comfort zone,” said Lydia Steenman, MS ’24, another of last year’s MDE Global students, who did a rotation in Turin, Italy, “I interacted with a different health care system based on public health and learned how resources were utilized in innovative ways, which was completely different from my clinical experience in NYC.  Their commitment to teaching and fostering a supportive environment demonstrated a unique approach to care that I aspire to incorporate into my own practice.”

That’s exactly what Jennifer Dohrn, DNP ’05, assistant dean of global initiatives, hopes students take away from their global experiences. “The skill and art of nursing practice come to life when students learn from nurses and midwives globally,” she says, “especially in Global South countries where the reality of inequities is tackled every day.” 

This feature—drawn from photos submitted to the 2024 Global Photo Contest—offers an armchair view of the rich clinical and cultural opportunities students have been afforded for the past 10 years.

An MDE Global student and faculty liason Lisa Iannacci-Manasia at Regina Margherita Children's Hospital.

“In the postpartum ward, I really connected with one of the mothers there. She was a first-time mom, and she was struggling with feeding her baby and just getting her baby to go to sleep. I helped her for the few days that we were on the unit, and at the end, she said, ‘You were my favorite.’ And I said, ‘Oh, my God.’ But I also had to whisper because there were patients nearby, so I said, ‘You were my favorite too.’” — Mitsy Wedderburn, Jamaica

Students having lunch at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

“During one of the first couple of days, there was a baby that was brought in that had about 20% of his body burned. It ... took three of us to change the dressing, and we had to distract the baby. One was applying saline to try to clean the wounds, and then one of us was trying to rewrap the wrapping. But just really getting in there, trying to move quickly, us not being so familiar with where all the supplies and everything were, and then having a language barrier, we were able to just navigate and work together.... It felt like we were truly coming together like a little family.” — Arriel Powell, Zambia

Students at a celebration of the Marathi New Year.

MDE students with their University of the West Indies ID card.

MDE Global students at the Taj Mahal.

Students listening to an informational session at a smoking cessation clinic.

An MDE Global student at  Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

MDE Global students with Jennifer Dohrn, professor and assistant dean of global initiatives, and Caroline Handschuh, assistant professor.

MDE Global students at a local temple. 

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Columbia Nursing Magazine.