There are some 12 million nurses working in 125 countries, the largest group of healthcare professionals in the world.
Their job is to provide care, teach others to provide care and direct policies to better administer care, according to Johns Hopkins' dean of the School of Nursing.
But Martha N. Hill says there is a shortage of nurses and it's growing.
To address the needs of many nations, such as Haiti, where the earthquake 6 months ago destroyed a nursing school, Hopkins has opened a new international center that aims to share what they and others know.
"The world's most serious health threats—maternal and infant death, new and resistant infections, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, malnutrition, natural disasters, and man-made conflicts—call for this global nursing perspective," she said.
Among other things, the center, Hill said, will partner with other academic institutions to help develop new curriculums, enhance the skills of practitioners and support research. It will help the United Nations meet its goals of improving the health of women and children.
It will also promote innovation and best practices in nursing, as well as help create global standards for nursing. It will encourage faculty and student exchanges and partner with international organizations to leverage resources.
Hill says all of this will be no small task. But nurses, she said, "are among the world's thinkers, decision-makers, innovators, and trail blazers who are on the front lines in dealing with national and international health issues. And they are poised to address—and capable of resolving—the world's most pressing health concerns."
Baltimore Sun file photo of child waiting for medical care after the earthquate in Haiti/Kim Hairston