Insights on International Collaborative Health
We know that global trends are changing clinical and preventive health care, research and development, workforce development and education. I encourage those of us in international collaborative health to discuss some of the unintended side effects we’ll encounter as our field grows more connected and complex. Here are some thoughts to get the conversation going:(...)
Anyone who was around in the 1950s remembers how the Cold War tension between the United States and then-Soviet Union seeped into everyday life. There was the growing threat of nuclear war, conflict in Korea, and an ideological clash that played out in politics, the media and popular culture. Space became another dramatic stage for(...)
We’re facing a global shortage of 17.4 million qualified health care workers—2.6 million doctors and more than 9 million nurses—according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Half of all hospitals today are operating with personnel deficits. Health care professionals’ willingness to relocate—even halfway around the world—for better career and educational opportunities is lessening some health(...)
The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago introduced Americans to hamburgers, the Ferris wheel—and the idea of higher education for nurses. Nurses hosted their first global meeting there, advocating for an educated workforce with professional standards of practice, rather than their traditional role as apprentices in hospitals. This meeting attracted notable and progressive nursing leaders, including(...)
By Zeina Khouri-Stevens I was pleased when my colleague Karen Haller approached me to tag-team on a pair of posts about how Johns Hopkins Medicine International is evolving and empowering the nursing profession at its global affiliations. We decided to use Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) as a successful case study on how we are(...)
Countries worldwide are facing unprecedented challenges related to health and health care. This is made worse by a global shortage of 17.4 million qualified health care workers (2.6 million doctors and more than 9 million nurses), according to the World Health Organization. Half of all hospitals are operating with personnel deficits today. If current trends(...)
Health care professionals have always been attracted to developed countries in search of better career and educational opportunities, political stability, and greater personal freedom, among myriad other factors. However, we’ve seen this trend go up significantly in recent years. The perceived need to relocate starts early for young people who dream of becoming nurses, physicians,(...)
My colleague John Ulatowski wrote about the inherent risk of homogenization as we share ideas about health and the delivery of health care around the world. At Johns Hopkins, we do our best to listen and learn before we begin an international affiliation, rather than foisting pre-conceived ideas and processes that work here or in the(...)
We agree on the benefits of health care globalization: more uniform standards of patient safety, growth of telemedicine, greater access to lifesaving treatments, immediate information about care and wellness. But are we overlooking a possible drawback: the homogenization of health care? You may like knowing you can get the same Starbucks coffee whether you’re in(...)
We know what globalization means. Boundaries between countries disappear, giving way to single global markets for labor, manufacturing, finance and service. Money, goods, people, ideas and information mix in unprecedented ways, shaping our lives today and opportunities for tomorrow. But what does it mean for health care? When we talk about the globalization of health(...)