Markaki believes 'think globally, act locally' should be way of life for everyone at the UAB School of Nursing.
Written by: Jimmy Creed
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing has long focused on the concept of “think globally, act locally” in preparing the nurse leaders, scholars and researchers of the future.
The School’s Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing is poised to grow its global and local influence under its new deputy director, Associate Professor Ada Markaki, Ph.D.
Since joining the faculty in August 2016, Markaki has worked to position the school to capitalize on its past PAHO/WHO successes and the growing momentum surrounding global health.
“Now the school has to look into ways of establishing global health leadership at home,” Markaki said. “I see our taking it to the next level, making it truly interprofessional and developing long-lasting sustainable partnerships across UAB, the city and the state.”
The idea of having a global understanding of transnational health issues, social determinants and solutions, while using the perspectives to address health care needs at the local level — or “glocalization” — is gaining traction throughout the nursing profession.
“School of Nursing Dean Doreen Harper has championed ‘glocal’ well before it became a fashionable concept,” Markaki said. “This is the conceptual framework we are aiming to use for our graduate and undergraduate courses to make sure our students are competent in global health.”
Markaki recently implemented an online International Visiting Scholars Inquiry Form as a way to centralize incoming requests to the UAB School of Nursing and respond in an efficient way. Once visiting scholars have completed their stay, they will also be asked to complete an online survey. Feedback will then be shared with administration and faculty who served as their mentors to help improve services and track outcomes.
Markaki is thrilled to have joined the UAB School of Nursing at a time of great growth, in terms of both staff and infrastructure.
“Coming here has been beyond my expectations,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting everyone involved, to some extent, in the global health agenda. It should become the way of life for all our faculty, staff and students.”