Future Leadership: Advanced Practice Nursing

To coin a phrase from the lyrics of an old song, “what the world needs now” to improve global health is nursing leadership. Several policy reports from the World Health Organization1,2 and the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO)3 emphasize the strategic importance of nursing leadership and the strengthening of nursing leadership at all levels of health systems for improving access and quality of care and population health outcomes. Similarly, these reports recognize the enhanced clinical expertise provided by advanced practice nurses and advocate for their expanded use and optimized scope of practice to deliver needed health care services in all countries, but especially in lower- and middle-income countries where advanced practice nurses may be few or non-existent, and where there is high health inequity.