Fulbright Scholar: Kevin McGirr RN,MS,MPH
Biography
Kevin McGirr is an Associate professor of Nursing (MS – UC San Francisco, MPH – UC Berkeley, incomplete Dr.PH – UC Berkeley) who teaches community health, public health and mental health related courses in the department’s baccalaureate program.
Professor McGirr was a Fulbright Teaching Scholar at Jawahalal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Pondicherry, India for six months during the 2013-2014 academic year.
While in residence he taught social medicine residents, graduate nursing students and masters’ public health students. His teaching focus included a variety of course modules on social epidemiology, qualitative research methods, quality management, human services management, advocacy and psychiatric epidemiology. Two specific areas of interest were development of strategies for the identification and basic intervention with substance abuse problems and conceptualizing research into the prevention of suicide among farmers in rural India. There is significant awareness and sophistication of health issues and intervention strategies within the educational system for medicine, nursing and public health. The main challenges are lack of modern health services infrastructure and the need for public awareness, education and change in social/ cultural attitudes. These issues are of particular challenge in the area of behavioral health.