Taryn McCoy

Biography

Taryn McCoy is a Coordinator for the Global Health Innovation initiatives ongoing at Belmont. Taryn began her nursing career in Houston, Texas, where she cared for adult multi-organ transplant patients. She then transitioned to pediatric nursing, caring for surgery, trauma and transplant patients in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. After years of providing nursing care across the United States, Taryn began to explore global health opportunities worldwide. Her commitment to global healthcare is well-regarded, being named the hospital-wide Nurse Humanitarian of the Year in 2020 and earning honorary citizenship in Italy for her dedication to caring for patients there during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During her years doing clinical work across Latin America and West Africa, she was struck by the gap existed between healthcare interventions implemented and the cultures and values of the patients they were caring for. This led her to pursue a dual-degree program, where she achieved a Master's of Theological Studies degree alongside her Master's of Science in Nursing. Through this academic program, she focused on studying global religions and history, while advancing her nursing practice and clinical expertise. After graduating as a Family Nurse Practitioner, she now clinically practices at a local non-profit, caring for Nashville’s immigrant and refugee populations from a whole-person care model.

As these experiences were so transformative for her, she is deeply committed to creating pathways for nursing and health professional students to discover opportunities in the global health sphere. As Belmont’s Global Health Coordinator, she helps cultivate and sustain long-term international partnerships, as well as implement grant-funded initiatives. A key aspect of her role lies in developing opportunities to integrate global health principals and projects into the undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculums, and leading students as they engage in these pursuits. It is her greatest joy to work alongside community partners, patient populations, and college students - both locally and around the world!

Outside of work, she is most likely to be found reading in Centennial Park or running the best trails in Nashville – her favorite hobbies. She loves to travel and has been to all seven continents (Antarctica being her favorite!). She is also an avid water skier and a proud aunt.