As a 2010 Frist Global Health Leader, Vanderbilt nursing student Cody Bowers traveled to Guatemala to work at Primeros Pasos.
Cody Bowers graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in August of 2010 with a master’s degree from the Family Nurse Practitioner program. As an undergraduate student at San Francisco State, Cody’s interest in nursing was spurred while working as a mental health technician at a psychiatric hospital in Fremont, California. The daily struggle for many of these patients was initially difficult to witness, but helped him recognize the need for a holistic approach to nursing and healthcare.
After a summer road trip to the Gulf Coast in 2006 to help restore the hurricane ravaged region, Cody’s love for nursing was confirmed. The destruction and destitution was a minor blemish on the American landscape, but the agony along the Gulf Coast was certainly resonating throughout third world countries on a daily basis. This idea has pushed Cody towards a career in global health nursing where he can help institute change and improvements for those in need of healthcare.
With an interest in tropical medicine and infectious disease, he hopes to work in a primary care clinic in Central or South America where he can expand his Spanish as well as his diagnostic skills. As dengue fever, malaria, cholera, dystentery, and Chagas ravage the impoverished population of our southern neighbors, further research and interventions are needed to reduce the consequences of these infections.
Read about Cody’s experiences as a 2010 Frist Global Health Leader
- 11 October 2010: Landing in Guatemala
- 27 October 2010: Obstacles to Treatments in the Presence of Severe Medical Conditions
- 10 November 2010: The Prevalence of Toxicology
- 23 November 2010: Trying to be innovative with diarrhea
- 15 December 2010: When Medicine Misses