NIFA has continuously sponsored students and graduates for Mission to Heal trips since 2008. Adeline Domkam, FNP, of Stockton, CA, was a NIFA student when she went to Uganda on her first M2H medical mission last year. This year she served on her second mission, this time in Kenya. She is featured In the Spotlight below.
From all of us at NIFA: May your 2026 be peaceful and rewarding.
Report from Mission to Heal
by Samuel Jangala, Mission to Heal (M2H)
The year 2025 was a challenging one for Mission to Heal. We lost one of our Mobile Surgical Units to a fire, forcing us to rethink programs that had long relied on this vital resource. While difficult, this moment prompted important reflection and growth.
Under the leadership of Dr. Glenn and our board, we have successfully charted a path forward that preserves our core mission: providing surgical education and training to local healthcare professionals. Moving ahead, this work will be carried out through strategic partnerships with medical schools. One such partnership has already been established in Uganda, and we are actively working to identify similar partners in Kenya.
Even as this planning took place, Mission to Heal remained fully engaged in the field. In 2025, we completed four medical missions. Fourteen volunteers, including one NIFA-trained volunteer, participated. More than 11 local healthcare professionals received training, and over 900 patients were screened.
Looking ahead to 2026, we will return to Uganda with medical missions conducted in partnership with Kabale Christian Care and Kabale Medical School. Three missions have been scheduled:
April 11-27: Uganda I
July 3-11: Uganda II
July 10-18: Uganda III
(The July missions are back-to-back. If you would like to volunteer in both missions, please indicate in your application that you would like to do so.)
As always, our work depends on the dedication of our volunteers, and we look forward to welcoming both new and returning participants. We are also pleased to offer a scholarship for first-time NIFA students or graduates who apply to join an upcoming medical mission.
Wishing you all a happy New Year!
Photo courtesy of Mission to Heal
Volunteering for a Mission
Mission to Heal is always looking for volunteers — medical students, doctors, nurses, nurse anesthetists, RNFAs and more.
“Everyone who joins our missions takes on the role of teacher,” M2H’s website states. “Whether you have experience teaching in a healthcare setting, or this is your first time being a classroom leader, you can pass your skills along to others.”
Participants pay a volunteer fee that supports Mission to Heal in addition to covering the cost of food, lodging, transportation, medical supplies, and fuel for the Mobile Surgical Unit. Volunteers are responsible for buying their own flight tickets. Mission to Heal provides a fundraising toolkit to support volunteers in raising the necessary funds.
Since 2008, NIFA has endeavored to provide M2H with donations toward scholarships for its RNFA students and graduates. The process for being considered is to apply through the normal Mission to Heal process.
Not in a position to volunteer but you’d like to help? Please donate at the Mission to Heal website.
Photo courtesy of Mission to Heal
Videos
US charity trains medics to improve healthcare in rural Kenya / VOA News.
See this and other short videos on the new Mission to Heal website’s Media page.
In The Spotlight: Adeline Domkam
Credentials
FNP
Student Status
Former student in NIFA’s RNFA program
City & State
Stockton, CA
Current Position
I work as an RN in the procedural care unit at St. Joseph Medical Center in Stockton.
Volunteering in Mission to Heal’s February 2025 Kenya mission was your second medical mission with M2H. How was your experience this time?
This year’s mission was devastated by the loss of the Mobile Surgical Unit, but we were able to carry out many minor procedures in local clinics and hospitals. We also helped a woman give birth who had walked miles without food or water in a desert area to get to the clinic; we helped her with that childbirth, which was a little difficult. I don’t take for granted any of the work we did with Dr. Glenn. You hope you leave an impact and that the local medical people you work with are able to replicate these procedures after you’ve left. I plan to do another mission this year. These missions are really meaningful to me.
How did you get into nursing in the first place?
I grew up in Cameroon. At about 7 years old I started noticing that women during childbirth would be screaming and yelling. As a child, I wanted to do something for those women. Women shouldn’t be in that much pain giving birth. I wanted to become an OB/GYN doctor. Read about Adeline’s path to First Assisting . . .
NIFA – Office Hours
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am – 4:00pm
Friday, 8:00am – 3:00pm
Practice Resources
Here are several of the most-in-demand sites for our students, prospective students and grads:
NIFA’s RNFA Job Board
MD Edge Surgery News: Specialty News and Commentaries, Videos and More
RNFA Scope of Practice by State (PDF)
ACS List of Cases that Require an Assistant at Surgery, 2023 (PDF)
Perioperative Nurse Links (state nursing boards & professional associations)
APRN Nurse Links
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual scope of practice.
Each year in December we shine a light on the remarkable nonprofit organization we help support. Mission to Heal (M2H) is a global medical missions agency that brings high-quality surgical and medical education to local practitioners in some of the most remote areas of the world. Their founder, Dr. Glenn Geelhoed, a professor of surgery at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is an accomplished surgeon, scholar and writer; among many other positions and honors he is a Master Surgeon Educator, American College of Surgeons. Dr. Geelhoed also serves on NIFA’s teaching staff. 
