Beyond Borders: How Nurse Practitioners Can Engage With Global Health in an Interconnected World

Global health challenges transcend national boundaries, requiring nurse practitioners (NPs) to extend practice beyond traditional local contexts. This paper examines contemporary issues in global health in the context of historical foundations and the lasting effects of colonialism. Contemporary issues include pandemics, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, workforce migration, and armed conflict, all of which can influence local NP practice. For each of those areas, we identify actions that NPs can take on the level of practice and policy to address those issues. More broadly, we recommend three priority areas for NP engagement: (1) integrating global health competencies and ethical international experiences into education; (2) providing culturally appropriate, trauma-informed care for diverse populations; and (3) advocating for equitable immigration policies and international health funding. By adopting a global health perspective, and making use of decolonizing approaches to international partnerships, NPs can enhance care for immigrant and refugee populations, address climate change, collaborate with international colleagues, and promote health equity and social justice.