In a global world where we’re more interconnected than ever, it’s essential to examine the role of nurses in healthcare leadership. From information technology, international travel, social media, and migration patterns to international crises, pandemics, wars, poverty, and climate change, the role that nurses play in global healthcare is critical.
While wearing scrubs and working in a hospital is the day-to-day reality for many nurses, nearly half of US nurses work in non-hospital settings where they hold key positions at the community, state, country, and global levels. For example, nurses contribute their expertise to organizations like the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Council of Nurses (ICN), where they provide health policy advocacy, program implementation, and management skills, as well as advise and lead, contributing their knowledge and expertise to help improve global health outcomes.
While there are certainly areas for improvement, such as the need to address and proactively diversify the nursing workforce (80% of nurses in the US identify as white) and expand care in less advantaged spaces like Indigenous communities and developing nations, the sky is the limit in terms of what nurses can achieve on a global scale.

How Nurses Can Lead the Way in Global Healthcare
There’s a need for nurse leaders in research and innovation, public health emergencies, and global health diplomacy. When nurses are included as leaders in these fields, they can make an immense positive impact.
When it comes to research and innovation, nurses are highly effective in contributing to healthcare research and developing new patient protocols based on their insights from direct patient care.
The critical role of nurses in public health emergencies was well highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses on the front lines provided essential services, conducted public health education, and implemented preventative measures.
When it comes to nurses leading the way globally, health diplomacy needs strong nursing involvement in decision-making because nurses are the people on the ground and are closely involved in direct patient care.
Examples of Nursing Leadership
Countless nursing leaders set great examples to aspire to. Two standout examples of nurses in healthcare leadership who have pioneered nurse-led initiatives in healthcare are Professor Jean White, CBE, and Dr. Janet Tomcavage, RN.
Professor Jean White, CBE MStJ, RN (Adult), PhD, DSc (Hon), MSc, BN, Cert Ed (FE), RNT, and current High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan (2023-24) was the chief nursing officer for Wales and senior adviser to Welsh Government in the United Kingdom until 2021. During the pandemic, she showed excellent leadership skills, working to rapidly increase the nursing workforce by calling on retired nurses to return to service and requesting that nursing students take an extended clinical placement. She was also involved in creating and implementing policies and emphasizing the importance of mental health for nurses.
Dr. Janet Tomcavage, MSN, RN, is a pioneer in population health and advanced medical homes. She’s the Executive Vice President of Health Services for Geisinger Health Plan, where she’s led the development of Proven Health Navigator. This patient-centered program helps elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions. The program involves home care nurses following up with patients, monitoring their conditions, ensuring they take their medication, and coordinating between healthcare providers and agencies. The program resulted in a 25% reduction in hospital admissions and a 14% decrease in total medical expenses for patients.
Strategies to Enhance Leadership Skills for Nurses
Let’s look at a variety of ways you can enhance your nursing leadership skills to help you learn how to effectively guide teams, improve patient care outcomes, and create positive change within various healthcare settings.
- Education and Training: Work on your continuing education through certifications, pursuing advanced degrees, and attending leadership training programs. If you’re a nursing student, you can find opportunities for education and networking through the Osmosis Health Leadership Initiative (OHLI).
- Mentorship: Intentionally seek out mentors who are experienced leaders in nursing and take advantage of their expertise in every way possible.
- Networking: Join as many groups as possible to connect with other nurses and healthcare providers. Some great places to start are LinkedIn and Facebook, but there are also a number of fantastic nursing organizations and conferences you can attend.
- Self-development: Work on understanding your strengths and weaknesses, developing and improving on them so you can confidently bring more skills and tools to the table.
- Effective Communication: Leaders need to be effective communicators. Proactively work on your communication skills when talking with patients and colleagues.
- Problem-solving and Decision-making: Whenever you’re given the chance, enhance your problem-solving ability. Often, developing these skills comes with experience on the job.
- Emotional Intelligence: Recognize and learn how to effectively manage your emotions and understand the emotions of others. Develop your conflict resolution skills and work to fully understand team dynamics.
- Understand Industry Trends: It’s beneficial to look at what is happening in your community and globally. Look to the WHO, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the National League for Nursing (NLN).
- Self-care: Self-care always comes into play because nurses care for others and often put others’ needs ahead of their own. However, you must also care for yourself to avoid getting burned out.
- Experience: Direct practice is one of the best ways to develop your leadership skills. Look for opportunities to take on leadership roles, whether leading a project or serving on a committee.

How Nurses Can Advocate for Change
As leaders in global healthcare, nurses can advocate for change at both the patient and broader policy levels. You can, for example, advocate for your patients by ensuring they’re respected and receive the best care. Specifically, you could advocate for adjusting a patient’s pain management (especially important for marginalized groups who have historically been undertreated or overlooked in healthcare settings).
By joining a policy committee, nurses can advocate for policies that improve systems and patient outcomes. For example, you can advocate for policies like safe staffing ratios and improved patient care standards, which help prioritize and ensure patient safety, quality of care, and the well-being of fellow healthcare professionals.
At the community level, you can advocate for public health measures like vaccination campaigns, health screenings, clean water, and sanitation initiatives, and educating the public on preventive healthcare practices, which are essential in improving community health outcomes and preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
Resources for Advocacy in Nursing
There are a variety of resources to help you become an advocate as a nurse, such as:
- Education: Nursing education can help you stay informed about current policies and issues. Consider attending webinars and workshops or completing courses, trainings, and educational opportunities through organizations like the American Nurses Association, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Collaboration: Collaborating with others can help you advocate for patients and policies. Often, nurses know a lot about what other professions do within healthcare organizations because they refer patients to other areas, whereas other professions don’t typically learn as much about what nurses do. The more you collaborate, the more you can communicate and advocate.
- Leadership: Look toward national organizations and organizations that specialize in offering nursing leadership opportunities.
- Political Advocacy: You can write to representatives or even go to Capitol Hill to have your voice heard on important topics.

Evolving Technologies for Nurses
Nurses must stay current on new technologies to lead the way in global healthcare. By being well-versed in the following technologies, you can help lead the way in global healthcare.
- Electronic health records (EHR) have revolutionized how nurses care for patients. Telehealth, which saw a huge increase during the pandemic, has opened up the practice environment.
- Wearable technologies such as watches and pulse oximeters allow patients to be more continually monitored.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a game changer in medicine. It can be used for patient education, developing a plan of care, research, disease management, and more. Simulation technology plays a significant role in nursing programs, from CPR classes to virtual reality, that allow prospective nurses to practice skills in a risk-free environment.
- Robotics tools can assist in surgery, help dispense medication (e.g., ROBOT-Rx), lift patients (e.g., Robear), and sanitize rooms (e.g., TmiRob), reducing the physical workload of healthcare workers.
- 3D printing can create patient-specific models, produce medical equipment, and has revolutionized the production of prosthetics.
- Finally, remote learning breaks down barriers and increases access to education. Within Osmosis from Elsevier alone, there are 4,238,422 learners and 223,303,633 videos watched globally.
With all of these innovations currently in use, it’s essential for nurses to stay current with advances in technology to help assist them in daily tasks and improve patient outcomes.
The Path Ahead for Nursing
Empowering nurses to lead the way in global healthcare is a necessity and a strategic need for improving health outcomes worldwide. Nurses are uniquely positioned to influence healthcare through their direct patient care experience, roles in public health emergencies, and involvement in health diplomacy. By enhancing their leadership skills through education, mentorship, networking, and self-development, nurses can effectively guide teams, improve patient care, and create positive change within various healthcare settings. Moreover, advocating for policy changes and staying abreast of evolving technologies will further enable nurses to contribute significantly to global health. By investing in the development and empowerment of nurse leaders, we can ensure a more resilient, equitable, and effective global healthcare system.
References
- Maria Pfrommer, DNP, Ph.D., FNP-BC, RN and Elizabeth Lucas, EdD, RN, CNE (2024). How to Empower Nurses to Lead the Way in Global Healthcare [Webinar]. Osmosis from Elsevier. https://www.osmosis.org/events/video/how-to-empower-nurses-to-lead-the-way-in-global-healthcare
- https://www.elsevier.com/connect/for-a-safer-patient-world-we-need-empowered-nurses-to-lead-innovation
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214785320305216
- https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/products-and-medical-procedures/3d-printing-medical-devices
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-57454-8
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