WHAT YOU WLL LEARN: 🔥 Erin's inspiring career journey in healthcare 🔥 Africa and Thailand - how these places and cultures influenced Erin's life choices 🔥 Erin's biggest takeaway from the Soul Kitchen Vision retreat 🔥 Future plans - documenting healthcare stories while travelling the world

Erin O'Connell, a dedicated healthcare professional from the United States, is transitioning to a new chapter in her career. Combining her extensive experience in the medical field with a passion for global cultures and storytelling, Erin is about to create a unique and impactful project - to write a book. From her beginnings as a psychology student to her current pursuit of becoming a writer, Erin's life is a mosaic of experiences that have shaped her vision for the future.

Erin’s career began on a path far from where she is today - Erin originally pursued a degree in psychology, intending to become a psychologist, while she was also studying Swahili as a language. Erin spent some time studying abroad in Tanzania, and this experience ignited a love for Africa and a desire to make a meaningful impact on the world.

After graduating, Erin joined the Peace Corps, a U.S. government program that sends volunteers to work in communities around the world. She was assigned to Swaziland (now Eswatini), a small country in Southern Africa with the highest HIV/AIDS rate globally at the time. Working as a health volunteer there, Erin was deeply moved by the public health challenges she witnessed. This experience marked a turning point in her life, steering her away from psychology and towards public health.

Upon returning to the U.S., Erin decided to pursue a career in international public health. Her next step was unconventional and bold - she enrolled in a master’s program in Thailand, focusing on public health. Despite concerns from her family, especially after the devastating tsunami in 2004, Erin was determined to follow her passion.

Thailand became a significant chapter in Erin’s life, where she immersed herself in the country’s healthcare system and culture. Her education in Thailand opened her eyes to the complexities and beauty of public health on a global scale. She continued her studies in epidemiology upon returning to the U.S., eventually working as an epidemiologist for the Florida Department of Health. For five years, Erin dedicated herself to understanding and managing disease outbreaks. But something was still missing.

While working as an epidemiologist, Erin couldn’t shake the feeling that her true calling was elsewhere. She recalled the nurses she had met in Africa, who were making a direct impact on the lives of patients. At 30, Erin made another bold decision: to become a nurse.

For 12 years, Erin has worked in paediatric intensive care units, caring for the sickest children in the hospital. She has been a travel nurse, moving to different hospitals across the U.S. every three months, gaining a wealth of experience in various medical settings. Her specialty is heart surgery, but her work has spanned trauma, brain surgery, neonatal care, and more.

In her role, Erin has witnessed the raw realities of life and death, often holding the hands of young patients through their toughest moments or supporting their families. Despite the emotional toll, she has found purpose and fulfilment in her work. However, she has also felt confined by the hospital walls, yearning for something more holistic and connected to her early love for global health.

In recent years, Erin has felt a growing desire to combine her healthcare experience with her passion for travel and cultural exploration. This led her to attend a Soul Kitchen Vision retreat in the summer of 2024, where she had a revelation: she wanted to write a book - a collection of stories from her experiences as a nurse, combined with global perspectives on medicine and healing.

Erin envisions travelling to different countries, starting in Thailand, where her public health journey began, to gather stories of patients, nurses, and doctors. She aims to explore and document the diverse approaches to healing around the world, from Eastern medicine to the unique practices of African communities.

Her goal is not just to share these stories but to contribute to the broader conversation on healing. She plans to blend her storytelling with rigorous research, drawing on her background in epidemiology and public health to provide a comprehensive and insightful look at global healthcare.

Erin’s journey is at an exciting point. With plans to start her book project in January 2025, she is preparing for a new adventure that will take her back to the places that shaped her and introduce her to new perspectives on healing. While the outcome of the book is uncertain, Erin is driven by the belief that the process itself - of connecting with people, hearing their stories, and sharing them with the world - is its own reward.