Abstract
In this article, the authors discuss the value of international health in advancing the nursing profession through the development of strong leadership in the area of drug demand reduction. Paradigms for nursing leadership are briefly reviewed and linked to the development of the "International Nursing Leadership Institutes" organized by the Inter-American Commission for the Control of Drug Abuse (CICAD). The "International Nursing Leadership Institutes" have facilitated the implementation of Phase III of the CICAD Schools of Nursing Project: a) planning and implementing the first "International Research Capacity-Building Program for Nurses to Study the Drug Phenomenon in Latin America", b) development of Regional and National Strategic Plans for Nursing Professionals in the Area of Demand Reduction in Latin America, and c) preparation of a document that provides guidelines on how to include drug content into undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula. The article also brings reflections directly from several of the participants in the first International Research Capacity-Building Program for Nurses to Study the Drug Phenomenon in the Americas, offered in collaboration with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. These reflections demonstrate the multiplicity of ways in which this capacity-building program has made it easier for these members of Latin American Schools of Nursing to show leadership in the area of drug demand reduction.
Highlights
With the beginning of the 21st Century, it is already evident that the nursing profession will face new challenges
Among the macro determinants and conditioning factors influencing nursing profession, the exercise of leadership, and the conduct of research within the profession are the political and economic stability of the countries; international and national security; health and environmental conditions; and scientific and technological advances. These new realities will influence the direction the nursing profession will take to work together to solve problems using scientific evidence, and to demonstrate new models of leadership to deal with the consequences of the globalization process, as well as with issues related to the drug phenomenon, violence, increase in refugees, degradation of the environment, health care reform, information and technology, terrorism and bio-terrorism acts; the aging of our populations, new demands in the job market, and new models of partnerships(1-3)
A good example of such effort is the role of the InterAmerican Drug Control Commission (CICAD) in the advancement of nursing education, practice and research in the field of demand reduction in Latin America
Summary
With the beginning of the 21st Century, it is already evident that the nursing profession will face new challenges. Among the macro determinants and conditioning factors influencing nursing profession, the exercise of leadership, and the conduct of research within the profession are the political and economic stability of the countries; international and national security; health and environmental conditions; and scientific and technological advances. These new realities will influence the direction the nursing profession will take to work together to solve problems using scientific evidence, and to demonstrate new models of leadership to deal with the consequences of the globalization process, as well as with issues related to the drug phenomenon, violence, increase in refugees, degradation of the environment, health care reform, information and technology, terrorism and bio-terrorism acts; the aging of our populations, new demands in the job market, and new models of partnerships(1-3). Educating nurses to work in the field of demand reduction requires a combination of international and national commitment and efforts with continued financial support to see results over the short, medium, and long term
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