By: Yale School of Nursing
In 2014, Mohamed Mohamed was 25 years old when he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, from his native Somalia. He did not speak a word of English when he arrived. He is now in the final months of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at Yale School of Nursing.
To say that Mohamed’s journey has been an epic one understates the case considerably. He has navigated new cultures and mastered a new language well enough to excel in the complexities of both healthcare and academic systems.
“The beginning was quite shocking,” says Mohamed. “A lot of things didn’t make sense. But when you are open-minded and eager to learn and grow, you know that everything is possible.”
After earning his BSN through a collaborative program between a local community college and Eastern Michigan University, Mohamed worked in a wide variety of settings, exploring the many directions nursing could take him. He spent time in a float pool, moving wherever he was needed—from the ICU to the renal unit—gaining broad clinical experience across disciplines.
While he valued that variety, a turning point came when he was assigned to a behavioral health and psychiatric unit. There, he discovered the kind of nursing practice that resonated most deeply with him.
“I like to focus and get to know the patients I have and build a rapport with them,” says Mohamed. It was on the behavioral health unit that he found the opportunity to do exactly that.
His interest in mental health was also shaped by personal experience. A brother still living in Somalia had shown early signs of schizophrenia, and in 2014—around the time Mohamed arrived in the United States—his condition worsened significantly.
“So, it clicked the first day I went to the mental health unit. I realized I’d seen these kinds of patients before. This was something I already knew about. I said to myself, ‘I can do a lot to help the community I’m part of right now and also back home.’”
Eager to deepen his expertise in behavioral health, Mohamed sought an advanced nursing program that was rigorous, flexible, and supportive. He found that in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at YSN, which allowed him to continue working full time while advancing his education through structured clinical placements and comprehensive coursework.
As his studies progressed, Mohamed also began collaborating with a psychiatrist in Kenya, where his brother had relocated. He shared treatment ideas and emerging psychiatric knowledge, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which ultimately became a turning point in his brother’s care.
After several twice-weekly sessions, his brother—who had been catatonic for 12 years—spoke.
“Within two weeks, he started talking and feeling better,” says Mohamed. “He was up and doing everything. Now he’s talking to me. I just spoke with him about an hour ago. He is chatting and looking forward to going back to school.”
Mohamed is now approaching graduation in August and hopes to continue building his expertise in psychiatric nursing. His long-term goal is to work full time in the field and eventually open a solo practice focused on expanding access to mental health care and supporting patients facing challenges similar to those his family has experienced.