Barbara Doyle

Barbara Doyle

Alumni Designation

Nu’86, GNu’94, GNc’96

Global Nursing Fellow

Country of focus: All PIH global sites
Host Organization(s): Partners in Health Global Nurse Executive Fellowship (PIH GNEF)
Faculty Mentor: Hanne S. Harbison, MHSPH, MSN, WHNP-BC
Fellowship Start/End Date: February 2021 - March 2022

Why were you interested in the Penn Global Nursing Fellowship opportunity?

I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Gabon, Central Africa from 1991-1993, and left nursing clinical practice in 2000 to work in healthcare informatics. I have had a pull back into nursing over the past few years, and the fellowship gave me an opportunity to (a) get back into nursing, (b) support the school, and (c) revisit global nursing from the Peace Corps work I did 30 years ago.

How were your background and skills the right match for the needs of your host organization?

As noted above, my Peace Corps work made me familiar with global healthcare. And I have also been a nurse leader throughout my career, as an assistant nurse manager, helping to start an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation program, being the first inpatient NP at a hospital to carry a service of patients. And post clinical care I have been a leader in my role as product manager for a tool used by over 700 hospitals in the country, and currently in my role as a clinical consultant. I was eager to share my learnings throughout my career with nurses embarking on theirs.

How did your Fellowship experience meet, exceed, and/or fall short of your expectations?

The fellowship was excellent. The PIH team welcomed us immediately into the team and we were equal team members to the PIH staff. I really enjoyed the time I got spend 1:1 with the fellows. It exceeded my expectations as we were really able to help shape and grow the program.

Do you feel you made an impact on the work of your host organization and, if yes, how?

Yes. For me, the biggest impact I had was reviewing and revamping the curriculum to even out assignments across the 3 phases, update content to be more recent, and shaping grading rubrics for the next round of PIH students.

Do you have any photos / videos from the experience you would like to share?

Global Impact: Penn Global Nursing Fellowship Program* Partners in Health (PIH), Virtual Fellowship, Africa & Haiti
Access the recording for this 4/13/2022 Global Bites presentation here

Do you have a favorite memory you would like to share?

My favorite memory was working 1:1 with two different students to help them develop data collection templates for their Capstone quality improvement projects.

Is there an accomplishment that brought you particular pride?

I am very proud of the updated curriculum content and grading rubrics I worked on with Hanne. I don’t have an academic background so it was a real push for me to think through the assignments to be sure readings were relevant and they weren’t to arduous.

The fellowship gave me an opportunity to get back into nursing, support the School, and revisit global nursing from the Peace Corps work I did 30 years ago.

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