Heading off to her freshman year of college at Michigan State University, Aisha Ealey, DNP, APRN, felt certain about her future. She wanted to become a physician, work in healthcare, and help and educate people.
“Things didn’t work out,” Ealey says. “I changed my major, and I had no idea what to do after that. I graduated with an interdisciplinary degree in health studies and felt really unsettled in my work.”
Though things didn’t go exactly as planned, Ealey never lost sight of what mattered most to her. She went back to school for her bachelor’s in nursing at Oakland University, and a few years later, she landed in California as a travel nurse.
She spent 20 years working in a neonatal intensive care unit before making the decision to earn her doctorate degree at Rush University.
“I kept talking myself out of it, like, ‘I’m not going to get accepted,’” she says. “But I did. I started in 2020 during COVID, and it’s the best thing that has ever happened. I’ve had the best career, and I ask myself, ‘Why didn’t I do it sooner?’”
Ealey was looking for a program completely remote. But throughout her time at Rush, she never felt like a distant student — her advisor and professors were always available when she needed them. Rush University’s College of Nursing checked all her boxes and gave her the confidence she needed to finish what she started.
“I left fired up and ready to conquer the world,” she says. “Not only did I gain the academic knowledge, but I felt well prepared to enter a room with all levels of leadership and advocate for patients.”
Ealey now works in Southern California at Loma Lunda University Children’s Hospital as a full-time neonatal clinical nurse specialist. But when she graduated from Rush in 2024, she wanted to use her skills as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in an unconventional way — somewhere and somehow outside of the hospital walls. So, she took her hard work and passion continents away to Africa.
Building a sustainable future
Ealey partners with different organizations that do medical and humanitarian missions in countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa. She volunteers to educate women and provide care for them and their babies in these communities.
“I teach moms about choking — the signs, symptoms and what to look for,” she says. “I’ve also taught hand hygiene and oral care.”
Ealey went back in June to help organize a two-day clinic. She and other volunteers provided health screenings and medications to more than 500 people in need. While educating and working to improve the quality of life for these families, Ealey was also given the opportunity to see the progress of the hospital facility being built and ensure it was set up for laboring moms and babies.
“I am able to educate and share my experiences on the basics of neonatal health on topics such as neonatal resuscitation and share the importance of thermoregulation with the use of blankets and other items they can use to help warm, dry and stimulate baby,” she says.
Once volunteers like Ealey leave these communities, the people there are left with whatever they have. So, she works to implement sustainable solutions by leveraging resources that are already available and optimizing their impact.
“They truly try to do what they can without all the equipment,” she says. “And it’s working for them. People aren’t dying because they don’t have all these resources — they're thriving.”
This work has been eye opening to Ealey, she takes what she learns and reflects on the healthcare system in the United States.
“When you go to these places, you become a lot more appreciative of the things we do have,” she says. “It makes me think, ‘How can we help them?’ but also, ‘How can we do some of what they’re doing?’”
From the very beginning, Ealey wanted to take care of people. The route she took to get there was unexpected, but she landed exactly where she was meant to be.
“People need help, and it shouldn't just be the babies or families in our communities,” she says. “Everyone deserves the chance at the best care possible, and I am so proud to be part of that.”
