The Wandering Nurse: Confronting Ebola, Polio, & Malaria

The Wandering Nurse: Confronting Ebola, Polio, & Malaria

From Inspired To Heal by William Trick

February 23, 2026 · 29 min · Season 2 · Episode 15

About this episode

Catherine Dentinger shares her journey from nursing school to working on disease eradication efforts in various countries.

What happens when an aspiring nurse is turned off by healthcare in college? For Catherine Dentinger, a Peace Corps stint in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a chance meeting with public health legend Jonathan Mann, changed her career. After attending nursing school of nursing at UCSF, she contributed to polio eradication in India, Ebola control in Guinea, and malaria prevention in Madagascar. Catherine’s CDC career is an interesting exploration of diseases and continents. Join h...

People in this episode

Host: William Trick

Guest: Catherine Dentinger

Topics covered

  • public health
  • disease control
  • nursing career
  • Ebola
  • polio
  • malaria
  • Peace Corps

Keywords

  • Ebola
  • polio
  • malaria
  • nursing
  • public health
  • Peace Corps
  • CDC
  • disease control

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CDC

Books & works: UCSF

Places: Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Guinea, Madagascar

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