Nurse of the Week: Pam Martin Goes Global

This Nurse of the Week is preparing to practice nursing on a global scale. Graduate student Pam Martin has spent 20 years as a nurse in pediatric hospitals across the US, but she’s now on a mission that will take her far beyond her own national borders.

Pam’s stint as a medical volunteer in rural Haiti in 2017 expanded her horizons and inspired her to ply her skills around the world. First, though, she has to work through a crowded agenda. While she works in an adult Emergency Department, Pam is also studying for her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Washington State University in Vancouver. At the same time, she’s working toward a Graduate Certificate in Public Health (at the WSU College of Nursing) and a Global Leadership Certificate from the WSU online program.

Pam is focusing on anthropology for her Global Leadership Certificate, and she believes that this, along with the Graduate Certificate in Public Health are essential to her plans: “I want to not only treat the person sitting in front of me, but the population as a whole. In a refugee camp, for example, if you have an outbreak of disease you need to get that under control very quickly; if you have limited resources, how do you do that?”

What will Pam do after receiving her DNP and certificates? According to the WSU Insider, “After graduation she’ll work as a nurse practitioner to gain experience in that role. Then her plan is to do humanitarian work, whether that’s in refugee camps or with groups facing disease outbreaks or displacement from a natural disaster.” As Pam says, “With an education as a doctoral prepared DNP, with certificates in Public Health and Global Leadership, I hope to apply my experience and knowledge to humanitarian work in health care. Learning from those around the world allows us a better understanding of our differences and our shared humanity.”