Mike Henry | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Mike Henry, MD, MS

Class of 2013
Major: Immunology and Infectious Disease
Minor: Global Health

Can you share your journey from being a part of the minor to where you are as now as an emergency medicine physician at the Indian Health Service’s Colorado River Service Unit?

I was part of one of the program's first student cohorts, and my fieldwork in Bagamoyo, Tanzania was a transformative experience. It also connected me with clinicians and researchers at the Ifakara Health Institute, paving the way for my Fulbright Research Fellowship, which led me back to Tanzania for a year after graduation. While in Tanzania, I worked on mosquito population surveillance in one of the highest malaria intensity regions in the world. Prior to the GH Minor I only had gone on very short service trips, so my extended experience of working in small rural locales with limited ex-pat communities taught me how to take the time to show up, shut up, and listen.

After my year as a Fulbright, I then returned to the United States to begin medical school at Columbia University in New York – a challenging re-entry. But the program had passionate individuals in global health who helped create opportunities for me to go to Uganda before taking a research year to complete my Masters in Rwanda. While in Rwanda, I worked as a research coordinator with Human Resources for Health (HRH) which had just started an emergency medicine residency modeled after American programs and staffed by American doctors to train Rwandan emergency physicians. The residency is now self-sufficient and run by Rwandan faculty.

I left for Arizona to complete my emergency medicine residency (at Maricopa) just before COVID-19. After the pandemic struck, I looked to the Indian Health Service (IHS) as a possible option that could link my global and public health interests and medical training during a time of constrained international travel. I forged relationships between my residency program and hospitals on the Navajo and Fort Apache Reservations. I've since worked with several Native communities, finding my current position in the Colorado River Service Unit.

Could you elaborate on your role at the IHS's Colorado River Service Unit and the unique challenges it presents?

Now, ten years out from Penn State and an emergency medicine physician, I work at the IHS’s Colorado River Service Unit – an area that reaches from southwest Arizona and near the Mexican border up to Las Vegas and over to California. It’s a huge and relatively desolate area with interesting Native communities and compelling health problems. For example, one site I work at is the remote clinic in the Supai community. Although I live in Phoenix with my partner, the clinic is hours away, deep in the Grand Canyon with the nearest road eight miles away and requiring either a brisk, multi-hour hike or a helicopter ride.

How have you approached learning about the various Native cultures you've encountered in your work?

When I have time on shift, I try to leave my office, the “doc box”, and hang out with the nurses, many of whom are from local tribes. Generally, I find it important to do anything you can do that creates less of a barrier between you and the people you’re serving. Embracing the mindset of “show up, shut up, and listen” is a lesson that resonates and one that I carry from my experiences in Tanzania.

What makes working for the Indian Health Service particularly meaningful and fulfilling for you?

Working for the Indian Health Service ticks off all the boxes I had in my search for meaningful, compelling work that offers adventure and exposure to other cultures. My work has deepened my understanding of tribal concerns, the environments they inhabit, and their profound connections and rights to essential resources such as safe water, indigenous farming practices, and more. I strongly recommend working with the Indian Health Service, and I feel good working for the federal government to serve rural communities.

What advice do you have for current or newly graduating students interested in pursuing careers in global/public health?

Good intentions are great but acquiring the necessary skill sets is key, whether through medical training, pursuing an MBA if you’re interested in global development, or an MPH for epidemiological and public health work. It’s also good to consider your career options based on where you are in life. Early career opportunities – for example, my ability to travel and conduct research with one month to sometime year-long placements abroad – can be easier to obtain but the choices can become more difficult as you need to consider longer-term job stability, your financial goals, and your partner’s goals if you’re in a relationship.