Nursing Students Serve in Malawi

Nursing students traveled to southeastern Africa for 10-day clinical experience focused on collaborative care and cultural immersion

Key Highlights

• Sacred Heart University Davis & Henley College of Nursing students completed clinical and public health rotations in Malawi
• Group partnered with the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic in Cape Maclear
• Experience strengthened cultural awareness and critical-thinking skills

A group of Sacred Heart University Davis & Henley College of Nursing students and faculty, led by associate nursing professor Heather Ferrillo, recently traveled to Malawi in southeastern Africa for a 10-day global health experience that combined hands-on clinical work, cultural immersion, and collaborative learning in a limited-resource health care setting.

The group, which included nine undergraduate nursing students, two nurse practitioner graduate students, and two faculty members, worked at the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic in Cape Maclear, Malawi. Students completed public health and primary care clinical hours while working alongside local providers in the clinic and in the community.

The Billy Riordan Clinic was founded in 2004 by Mags Riordan from Dingle, Ireland, in memory of her son Billy. The clinic provides prevention and treatment services, prenatal care, chronic disease management, medication support, and home care to the community of Cape Maclear, Malawi. The facility operates 24 hours a day and serves a rural community where the nearest hospital is more than an hour away.

Students conducted community assessments during their first days in Malawi to better understand the environmental and cultural factors that impact health care delivery. Faculty members emphasized the importance of understanding a patient’s community and daily life when providing care.

“I see a change in the students between when they go and when they come back—in their confidence level and the way they think critically,” said Ferrillo, undergraduate nursing program chair. “They have to really connect with patients.”

Ferrillo said the experience was also valuable because of the exchange of knowledge between Sacred Heart students and local providers. “There was collaborative learning on both ends,” she said. “For us, seeing the care from the local providers is amazing. They connect on such a level with their patients that we don’t always do in the U.S.”

Hailey Lerch ’26 said the experience reinforced the importance of cultural awareness in nursing. “Having been lucky enough to experience trips to both Ghana and Malawi, it is so important to me to be culturally aware and make all patients feel comfortable under my care,” Lerch said.

For Delaney Shaw ’26 the trip offered the opportunity to combine her passion for health care with an international experience before graduation. “I hadn’t been abroad, and this was a perfect chance,” Shaw said. “It seemed like a rewarding way to end my time at SHU.”

Shaw said one of the most impactful parts of the trip was interacting with and learning directly from the people living there. “We had a tour of the village, and we immersed ourselves in their environment,” Shaw said. “The people there were so grateful.”

The experience also offered students a glimpse of the community’s resilience and determination. “The people we met in Malawi are so resourceful with the very little they have,” Shaw said. “They problem solve and think critically.”

In addition to their clinical work, students experienced aspects of Malawian culture, including local traditions and community life. “This trip genuinely changed my life, and I’m so grateful for my time there,” said Shaw.