Objective. To identify and examine the current national
nursing strategies and
policy impact of
workforce development regarding
human resources for
health in seven selected countries in the Region of the
Americas Argentina ,
Canada ,
Costa Rica ,
Jamaica ,
Mexico ,
Peru , and the
United States .
Methods . A
review of available
literature was conducted to identify publicly-available docu¬ments that describe the general backdrop of
nursing human resources in these seven countries. A
keyword search of
PubMed was supplemented by searches of websites maintained by Ministries of
Health and
nursing organizations . Inclusion criteria limited
documents to those published in 2008–2013 that discussed or assessed situational issues and/or progress surrounding the
nursing workforce . Results.
Nursing human resources for
health is progressing.
Canada ,
Mexico , and the
United States have stronger
nursing leadership in place and multisectoral
policies in
workforce development.
Jamaica shows efforts among the
Caribbean countries to promote collaborative practices in
research . The three selected countries in Central and
South America championed networks to revive
nursing education . Yet, overall challenges limit the opportunities to impact
public health . Conclusions. The national
nursing strategies prioritized multisectoral collaboration, profes¬sional competencies, and standardized educational systems, with some countries underscoring the need to align
policies with efforts to promote
nursing leadership , and others, focusing on expanding the
scope of practice to improve
health care delivery . While each country wrestles with its specific context, all require proper
leadership , multisectoral collaboration, and appro¬priate
resources to educate, train, and empower
nurses to be at the forefront.