Global Nurse Program: A Nurse Leader's Innovation for Promoting Excellence

Rising inequities in healthcare and health status around the globe, changing demographics and disease patterns, and an increasing movement of populations and pathogens across porous borders, demands nurse leaders’ attention.  Nurse leaders in all countries must see the need to respond to 21st century health threats beyond their own countries needs by developing programs or initiatives that are responsive to issues of global health and/or challenges of globalization. Transcontinental transmission of disease underscores the imperative for leadership to take action to mitigate challenges presented by globalization and global health. For example, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, first reported in Asia in 2003, quickly traveled from person to person and across continents to, Europe, North America and South America before the outbreak was contained.  More recently, the poliovirus, once reported to be almost eradicated, travelled from northern Nigeria to Indonesia. These incidences demonstrate the need for strong leadership in global health from all healthcare leaders. One Nurse Leader launched the Global Nurse Program (GNP) as a comprehensive and multi-prong strategy to mitigate some of the challenges of globalization. The program expands nurses’ access to innovative clinical experiences and evidence-based nursing models of care, supporting knowledge exchange through education and in-countries consultation opportunities at no cost.  The GNP also broadened the organization’s diversity initiatives by promoting inclusiveness and creating a positive climate for the delivery of culturally competent care.  Success of the GNP can be credited to the staff of the program and organizational commitment, but mainly to the nurse leader who envisioned the program. Leadership passion and commitment has been the sustaining force for the GNP. Nurse leaders around the globe are challenged to create similar programs to promote excellence in global nursing practice and to further nursing’s reach to mitigating global health issues