Global Nursing

We live in a country where all children go to school to gain an education and 25% of them will go onto receive some type of college degree. Compare this to low-income countries, in which children are 16 times as likely to die prior to their fifth birthday (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). Beyond the lens of our smartphones, Facebook friends and Nike sneakers is a world full of desperate people wishing to have enough food to eat for today. Many parts of the world lack sanitation, safe housing, sparse medical care and no medication. The global health issue are everyone’s problems not only for the sake of altruism but, with the increase in global travel for routine business and pleasure, dangerous pathogen are no longer confine by boarders. The Ebola outbreak four years ago, proved the necessity of a global solution to global health issues. The collaborative practice of several world health agencies and economically developed countries along with the use of volunteers, statistical updates, the latest literature and practices kept this outbreak mostly contained to its region of origin and the death toll to approximately 11,000 people (mainly in West Africa) (WHO,

What was usually a disease contained in regions of sub-Saharan Africa became a global worry. Although the outbreak started in Guinea, it quickly spread to two neighboring countries. From these three countries, cases were then transmitted to the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom. No vaccine was available to stop the spread of Ebola. This deadly disease went from being a problem in only a small region of the world to being seen in three noncontiguous countries, which could have sowed the seeds of a pandemic had the cases not been contained. As a global community, we gain from our interactions with all citizens, but we must also be aware that we can also suffer from diseases that we think of as only affecting the “others.” If we do not help those “others,” we may become part of

My nursing practice has been affected by the medical mission trips that I have taken to Haiti. This course has further expanded my knowledge of global nursing and helped me to understand and envision new ways to improve health outcomes. I have been face to face with impoverished people who lacked access to clean drinking water, proper sanitation, nourishment and healthcare services. The life expectancy at birth in Haiti for women is 64 and in men is 61 (WHO, 2015). Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is still recovering from the catastrophic earth quake that occurred in 2010. As result of the earth quake, 220,000 were killed, more than 300,000 were injured and 1.5 million people lost their homes (Breakey, Corless, Meedzan, & Nicholas, 2015). The country experienced a large cholera outbreak following the earth quake because of their poor sanitation practices. The country continues to face many health challenges, so organizations from around the world are poised to help address the health disparities experienced by the Haitian people and others in developing nations around the world. Nurses are an important member of this team as lobby for change, provide much needed financial resources, give of their time and work toward making this world a better place for everyone to live.

President Obama, as a Commander-in-Chief, is responsible for safeguarding and protecting Americans, their interests (whether in the United States or abroad), and foreign nationals in the United States (US). Thus, the president is accountable to the American people and the international communities to provide leadership during crises to assure the well-being of American citizens. Consequently, the recent Ebola epidemic developing in West Africa presented the president and his administration with a unique challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership capacity. Despite this opportunity, the Obama administration has failed in its duty to effectively manage the crisis and minimize Americans’ exposure to the virus.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the principal government agency in the United States working to improve the health of all Americans despite their economic, social and educational status. HHS has identified three national goals of global health, including strengthen health care, advance scientific knowledge and innovation, and advance the health, safety and well-being of Americans (Secretary, 2014). The first goal to strengthen healthcare refers to HHS's push in making health insurance affordable for all Americans. This will increase access to preventative care as well as ensuring assess to high quality, culturally competent care. This goal focuses on improving transitions in care across the continuum, which in

There is no documentation of global health competency among advanced practice nurses, specifically for Nurse Practitioners in current health related literature. Global health competency is an issue of increasing importance as we face an era of immense globalization, migration, immigration, and widening income gaps. It is widely accepted that lower income status, ethnic and racial disparities place persons at risk for increased morbidity and mortality globally and locally. Additionally, advanced practice nurses, Nurse Practitioners, are increasingly seen as primary care providers for the future aiding rapidly aging and influxes of ethno-diverse cultures. This culminates with already existing high levels of poverty, reliance on government

In healthcare today, where patient outcomes are dependent on effective interprofessional education, interprofessional collaboration and interdisciplinary teamwork (Milstead 2015 p 261), there is the need for better preparation of health professionals in teamwork (“Team 4” concept). The purpose of interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaboration related to “Team 4” concept is to show that healthcare providers and health professionals are just as important to patient outcomes as the physician (Milstead 2015 p 264). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideas and concepts of IPE, is health professionals from many disciplines working together as a team towards the end goal of a better health outcome for the patient are pivotal, and must be included in medical education for all health care providers and health professional (Milstead 2015 p 261-264).

The supererogatory capitalist mentality reinforced in American society as a means of success and an acceptable manner to diligently fulfill ethical and moral obligations has been streamlined through the allocation of financial resources, however, these contributions have failed to educate West Africans about precautionary measures, build an effective public health infrastructure and has generated a new strain of the virus: Ebola Debt. Since the recent outbreak of Ebola in early 2014 politicians and public health officials have collaborated with the World Health Organization to dedicate the “Health System Fund” aiming to repay what a large portion of the population claims to be a debt to our allies, which beguiles

Inter-professional education is presently being embraced in many health and social care settings because of its positive effects on all stakeholders- service users, parents/guardians, workers and institutions of learning who, supposedly, are saddled with the responsibilities of firmly establishing the health and social care innovative idea. Supposedly, Interprofessional Education is implicitly designed to bridge the gap between all professionals involved in the care and support for clients. Being an effective tool to developing collaborations and efficiency among health workers of different professions, Inte-rprofessional education (IPE) occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes World Health Organization (WHO 2010).Quoting from the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), Barbara Jones and Phillips in their book Social Work and Interprofessional Education in Health Care: A call for Continued Leaderships, revealed the reason why the Institute of Medicine recommends that ” Health professionals should be educated to deliver patient centered care as members of an interprofessional team” (P.20). In what seemed an attempt to evaluate interprofessional (IPE) outcome for medical profession- medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, social work, pharmacy etc,. most undergraduate students, performance were reviewed and, the review reported general positive outcomes both on the students and

Health promotion has become priority issues and future directions for health professions from a world perspective. By focusing on individuals, families, communities, and the environments in which people live, work, and play the health care professionals today are vital links for promoting national and international health. Nurses today are required to have sufficient vision and expertise to provide the health of their clients. With leadership, creativity, and determination, the nurse can establish a healthier future for all people around the globe. According to

Global health is defined as “health problems, issues, or concerns that transcend national borders” (Institute of Medicine, 1997, p. 2). Koplan (2009) proposed a new definition for global health which he described as an “area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide” (para, 7). Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective and blends population health and clinical care.

At the time Ebola struck, the World Health Organizations mission was to coordinate authority on international health work. During Ebola, WHO directed organizations to furnish aid upon the request of the government. Previous to the Ebola epidemic, the WHO’s budget was cut by a half a billion dollars. The budget cut lead to three hundred jobs being terminated, mainly effecting the emergency response staff. Friedman and Gostin propose making WHO the apex of change emphasizing the importance of a government funded organization motivating the stronger system. The authors discuss WHO’s treaty-making capability expressing their concern for its lack in exercise. Gostin and Friedman want WHO to set priorities, mobilize action, and promote compliance with protocols set forth by the UN and Global Health System. The authors gain support from their readers when they compare WHOs capabilities to the actions of other

One of the main goals of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is to increase access to care by bringing health care to homes and communities instead of hospitals. Everyone should have a healthy life style and stay healthy. Prevention is a major factor in switching the health care approach by focusing on people and communities. In the past, the health care system was heavily biased based on income level, education, ethnicity and location. Health care should be available to everybody as a fact not as a chance. Money better to spend in maintaining health and funding higher education. Nurses are the center to this new care system.

The magnitude of the Ebola virus outbreak of 2014-2015 was unforeseen and unplanned, leading to lasting social, political and economic implications. “The Ebola virus rose from an isolated case and, within 18 months, various countries in West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liveria and Guinea recorded 11, 147 deaths from the virus, including 507 deaths of healthcare workers” (Grinnell, Dixon, Patton, Fitter, Bilivogui, Johnson, Dotson, Diallo, Rodier & Raguhunathan, 2015). Foreign and domestic nurses made up the majority of the healthcare professionals who risked their lives to help contain and treat the Ebola epidemic (“Protect Nurses on Frontline Says ICN”, 2015). Specifically, reports from the International Council of Nurses (ICN) indicate

"The failure to engage in the fight to anticipate, prevent, and ameliorate global health problems would diminish America's stature in the realm of health and jeopardize our own 
health, economy, and national security, " stated by The Institute of Medicine. Global health refers to health phenomenon that transcends across national borders. For instance, global health would address predicaments such as: infectious and insect-borne diseases that can spread from one country to another. Thus, global health should be addressed by collaborative actions and solutions. On the other hand, countries tend to focus on other essential issues that are occurring in the present day and therefore, overlook the global health issue. Some issues that countries