Embedding a Global Perspective into Canadian Nursing's Policy Priorities: Observations from the International Council of Nurses' 2021 Congress.

Nursing is a global profession, and the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated just how interconnected and interdependent nursing and health systems are across jurisdictions. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nursing associations and serves as a key policy voice at the global level. Every two years, their congress brings together thousands of nurses and stakeholders to share and disseminate knowledge. Although Canadian presence has historically been strong in these global fora, there is a lack of literature that focuses on discussing the implications of these global discussions on Canadian nurses' policy and advocacy engagement. In this article, we provide a framework of key policy themes as observed during the ICN's 2021 virtual congress. We discuss how these global policy themes align with Canadian nursing, health and public policy priorities and conclude with questions to guide nurses in embedding a global perspective into their research, policy, education and practice initiatives.

The ICN Global Nursing Leadership Institute: Integrating the SDGs into Leadership and Policy Development.

This article is one in a series in which contributing authors discuss how the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are linked to everyday clinical issues; national public health emergencies; and other nursing issues, such as leadership, shared governance, and advocacy. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a 15-year plan of action to achieve the goals, was unanimously adopted by all UN member states in September 2015 and took effect on January 1, 2016. The Agenda consists of 17 SDGs addressing social, economic, and environmental determinants of health and 169 associated targets focused on five themes: people, planet, peace, prosperity, and partnership. The SDGs build on the work of the UN Millennium Development Goals, which were in effect from 2000 to 2015. The current article discusses the International Council of Nurses Global Nursing Leadership Institute and its integration of the SDGs into a global leadership and policy development program.

Trauma-Informed Nursing Leadership: Definitions, Considerations and Practices in the Context of the 21st Century.

Trauma-informed practices have been widely adopted in clinical, educational and research domains of nursing practice, supporting trauma-informed care for patients and contributing to the knowledge base for trauma-informed care practices. However, trauma-informed concepts and frameworks have not been taken up as readily by nursing leadership in the administration and policy domains, presenting an opportunity for the exploration of the ways in which trauma-informed leadership might shape nursing leadership practice. In this paper, the concept of trauma-informed leadership is defined and considered as a possible direction for nursing leadership practice in the context of the 21st century, wherein increasing complexity and rapidly accelerating social divisiveness require leadership practices that centre compassion, well-being and justice. A real-world example from the COVID-19 pandemic response provides an opportunity to consider trauma-informed nursing leadership in practice as an approach to supporting individual, population and system wellness and resilience.

Commentary: Dear Federal Chief Nursing Officer: Why Canada Needs You.

Calls for national-level chief nursing officers are over a century old. However, global uptake of these roles and Canadian opportunities for nurses to lead in federal health policy environments have been limited. The absence of such a role in Canada limits connection to global activities, reduces Canadian capacity to participate as a member state in World Health Organization-led nursing activities and, within our borders, leaves the healthcare system without national leadership to coordinate and liaise with senior nurses across our provinces and territories for the benefit of our citizens and systems. In this article, a brief history of global advocacy for state or national level chief nursing officer roles and examples of federal chief nursing officers, in the Canadian context, offers a consideration of the unique contribution of nursing knowledge and leadership to health policy - extending arguments for nursing leadership in the policy arena beyond traditional arguments of strength in numbers or unique claims to caring. Findings from a Canadian national project by the Global Nursing Leadership Institute further illuminate the concrete steps we need to take toward enabling full-spectrum nursing leadership in policy, where policy science, political competency, identification of policy nurses and a revitalization of organizational structures across the country can extend the vision for nursing leadership in policy beyond a single seat at a single table.