Pratistha Dhakal is a committed public health professional and registered nurse, bringing over two years of clinical nursing experience and more than two and a half years of expertise in public health. She has contributed to strengthening health systems through her work at Nepal Health Sector Support Program-III and now leverages her extensive experience in her current role as a Research Officer at HERD International. She brings a diverse perspective of system thinking, gender, clinical practice and community development into her work, reflecting on her core values of human relations and integrity. Her comprehensive skill set includes program planning and implementation, qualitative research, advocacy, communication, and adaptability in working with youth and vulnerable groups.
As a Research officer at HERD International, she is involved in multiple health system projects, including Rebuild for Resilience (R4R) and Nepal Every Newborn Action Plan. Along with that, she is facilitating the activities of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning at HERD International. She supported quantitative data management in the MICROPOLL project and provided training on Anti-microbial Resistance for the COSTAR project. Her journey as a researcher started with the role of a consultant qualitative researcher in a national-level research project titled “Youth Leadership towards gender justice in Nepal,” funded by the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Center for Women (ARROW), Malaysia.
After earning her BSc in Nursing, Pratistha took on the role of One-stop Crisis Management Center (OCMC) nurse at Western Regional Hospital where she significantly enhanced services for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors through strategic coordination. She refined her clinical skills working as an Anesthesia Nurse at Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences. Beyond her professional commitments, Pratistha is dedicated to community service, actively volunteering with Aarambha Foundation to improve child education.