Stronger Leaders, Better Health Care Teams

Today the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON), together with the Johns Hopkins Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and JHPIEGO (a Johns Hopkins affiliate) launched the Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program. This is a two-year postgraduate training program that uniquely pairs an OB/GYN physician with an advanced practice nurse to address important women’s health issues in developing nations.

There are less than 10 fellowships in the US that address global women’s health, and this is the first to pair an advanced practice nurse and OB/GYN physician with the goal of implementing a sustainable project. The program will prepare the nurse and physician for leadership positions in global women’s health as well as improve care, education, and research for women and their families worldwide.

The program’s inaugural fellows are JHSON PhD student Ashley Gresh, a Certified Nurse Midwife, and Megan Cohen, an OB/GYN physician. Although they do not know yet where they will be stationed abroad, they think it will be somewhere in east Africa.

“The Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program broadens the space where physicians and nurses learn and grow together,” says Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN, dean of JHSON. “We’re building stronger leaders, better health care teams, and creating sustainable solutions to critical women’s health issues in low and middle income countries.”

Leadership is one of our greatest resources as nurses. We nurture leadership in all growing health care professionals; our fondest hope is that our leaders land far and wide, leaving established health systems with innovative processes in their wake. It will be a thrill to see where nurses’ and physicians’ perspectives meet, where students might learn from each other, and learn to appreciate the unique impact that one another has on patient care.

Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program

View photos of the Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program launch