Many of us are intrigued by the idea of volunteering, yet reluctant due to time constraints, inadequate skills, and lack of support. For nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners, these barriers can be minimized, opening volunteer opportunities that expand your practice to global audiences. The American Nurses Association (ANA) asserts that “volunteer activities are an appropriate response to disparities and inequities in healthcare across the globe” (ANA, 2019, p. 1). In 2025, Provision 10 was added to the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, guiding nurses to “participate in the global nursing and health community to promote human and environmental health, well-being, and flourishing” (ANA, 2025). It is estimated that 50% of the world lacks access to essential health services (World Telehealth Initiative, 2025). One contributing factor is a lack of adequate education for healthcare workers. Aligning with NPD Standard 8: Advocacy (Harper & Maloney, 2022), NPD practitioners are valuable resources in addressing this global health problem.

A Partnership Is Born

In 2021, Providence, a large Catholic health system, partnered with World Telehealth Initiative (WTI), a nonprofit organization that provides support to healthcare facilities in underserved communities across 17 countries (WTI, 2025). The goals of WTI are to advance the skills and capacity of healthcare providers in those communities, improve health outcomes for patients, and offer opportunities for compassionate, skilled healthcare professionals to make a difference for those in need (WTI, 2025). Providence leaders recognized the alignment of WTI’s goals with their own mission which was a driver for the collaboration. Providence then engaged leaders, nurses, and physicians to understand the global health problem and consider volunteerism to provide support.

In this partnership, WTI establishes relationships with hospitals in underserved global communities, assesses their clinical and educational needs, and coordinates with volunteer healthcare experts around the world to meet those needs using a virtual platform. WTI provides the necessary equipment and software to facilitate virtual connections and manages logistics, including scheduling and technical support. Providence invites employees to participate and currently has 81 physicians, and 58 nurses involved (WTI, 2025). Multiple volunteer opportunities are available, including physician and nurse mentorship, medical training, virtual specialty consultations, and nursing education. NPD practitioners are well-positioned to participate in this initiative.

Why Me, an NPD Practitioner?

The roles of the NPD practitioner are learning facilitator, change agent, mentor, leader, champion for scientific inquiry, advocate for NPD specialty, and partner for practice transitions (Harper & Maloney 2022). As an NPD specialist with Providence serving nurses transitioning in practice, I engaged with WTI in February of 2024. I began to realize how the NPD practitioner roles are uniquely suited to support the educational needs of healthcare providers in global communities. NPD practitioners are equipped with valuable skills pertinent to the NPD roles of learning facilitator and mentor. Additionally, with employer support, NPD practitioners have access to learning facilitation tools, numerous resources, and clinical curricula that can be adapted for use in volunteer-led education programs.

Getting started was a simple process. I submitted an online application, specifying my areas of expertise and languages spoken. I am fluent only in English, and many opportunities were available. A WTI program associate guided me through program expectations and training requirements, including use of the telehealth software for virtual connections. WTI then initiated an analysis process to match my areas of expertise to the needs of partnering hospitals.

Taking My NPD Skills to Bhutan, From Home

My first match was with Central Regional Referral Hospital (CRRH) in Bhutan. The WTI program associate contacted me with the requested topic and scheduling options. The topic request was broad and potentially out of my realm of expertise, Dialysis Guidelines for Nursing, so I reached out to seek clarification: “I do not have expertise on dialyzing a patient but could share about caring for a patient on an inpatient acute care unit who is receiving dialysis.” I received a response that this would meet their need, so I selected a date and time within their listed availability. The WTI program associate shared key information about the facility and learners and connected me with their WTI site coordinator. I learned that CRRH is a tertiary care hospital with a dialysis unit, and a referral center receiving acute care patients from smaller facilities across a large geographical area. Learners would include acute care nurses, selected physicians, nursing students, and other healthcare providers.

Education Design, Development, and Implementation

In preparing for the session with CRRH, I developed an education plan and content using NPD best practices. This included adhering to principles of adult learning, incorporating a variety of learner engagement strategies, addressing diverse learning styles, ensuring content is evidence-based, and respecting cultural norms (Oermann et al., 2018). With employer support, I used content developed by my team for the Providence Transition in Practice (TIP) program and adapted it for the learners of CRRH. The presentation slides were shared with WTI and CRRH in advance so they could respond with any questions or suggestions prior to the session. On the night of the session, which was morning in Bhutan, the WTI site coordinator projected the slides in their classroom, advancing on my prompt. I joined remotely using telehealth software with the camera on. Learners were able to visualize me on their telehealth device, and I could see their classroom on my home computer.

Evaluation and Response

Evaluation began at the start of class. As the site coordinator introduced the groups of learners present (acute care nurses and physicians but no nursing students), in-the-moment adjustment was necessary to ensure content was relevant, meaningful, and building on existing knowledge for the experienced caregivers attending. Formative evaluation was conducted during class through observation of learner engagement, interactions, and questions posed. At the end of class, several learners shared what they had learned in the session and how they felt this would impact their community. Ongoing collaboration with the site coordinator is valuable as they share feedback received from learners, additional learning needs, or topics where further exploration is needed.

Next Stops: Kenya and Togo

To date, I have facilitated an additional 11 sessions with Longisa County Referral Hospital in Kenya and three with El Elyon Hospital in Togo. Topics have included:

• Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection Prevention
• Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention
• Care of Surgical Sites
• Wound Management
• The Nursing Process
• Developmental Milestones in Nursing
• Ostomy Care
• Stroke Care
• Sepsis Care
• Care of Patients with Cancer

Analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation have followed a similar process for all sessions. The process for content development varied as I created new content for only two of these topics. Using artificial intelligence tools improved efficiency in getting started. All other topics were developed by adapting existing curricula from the Providence TIP program. This included the use of previously developed activities to enhance learner engagement such as concept mapping, a “what’s wrong in this picture?” exercise, and small group case studies. I have conservatively estimated a savings of 45 hours in preparation time, calculated using the 4:1 ratio of preparation to presentation hours (Opperman et al., 2016) for 15 sessions, and subtracting the approximate one hour per session for adapting the curriculum.

A Win / Win / Win Situation

Volunteerism with this initiative has demonstrated gains for the global communities served, the volunteers, and our employers. Global partners report advances in knowledge and skills of caregivers, improved health of their communities, and appreciation for cross-cultural connections. Volunteers experience a sense of fulfillment through cultural exchange, enhancement of our own professional skills, personal growth, and strengthened engagement with a supportive employer. These benefits for volunteers are consistent with existing literature on volunteerism among healthcare workers (Chen et al, 2023; Alrashdi & Al Thobaity, 2024; Hammon et al., 2023; Solomon, 2021; Fredriksen et al., 2024; Woody, 2020; and Vannier et al., 2021). For NPD practitioners with employer support in using relevant curricula and resources, this is an opportunity to experience meaningful volunteerism without a significant time commitment. Employers who support this partnership can experience making a global contribution at no cost to the organization, improved employee engagement, and an NPD workforce with advanced skills.

Connecting with my colleagues in Bhutan, Kenya, and Togo reminds me that we are partners in this work of caring. As I log in, I see a room full, standing room only, of students, highly skilled nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals eager to learn. Local resources are limited so everyone joins with a genuine desire to enhance knowledge and skills. A local chaplain offers a prayer of blessing and gratitude. We learn from each other, and we share in the mission to promote human health across the globe. This is nursing, and I’m honored to be a part of it.

I invite you to consider going global in your NPD practice through volunteerism. For more information, go to www.worldtelehealthinitiative.org.

References

• Alrashdi, M. M., & Thobaity, A. A. (2024). Exploring the experiences, motivations, and skillsets of nurse volunteers during Hajj: Implications for enhancing volunteer programs. BioMed Central (BMC) Nursing, 23(1), 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01712-7 
• American Nurses Association (ANA). (2025). Code of ethics for nurses. https://codeofethics.ana.org/home
• American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Ethics and Human Rights. (2019). ANA position statement: Ethical considerations for local and global volunteerism. https://www.nursingworld.org/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/nursing-excellence/ana-position-statements/social-causes-and-health-care/ethical-considerations-for-local-and-global-volunteerism_final_nursingworld.pdf
• Chen, L., Zhang, J., Zhu, Y., Shan, J., Zeng, L. (2023). Exploration and practice of humanistic education for medical students based on volunteerism. Medical Education Online, 28(1), 2182691-2182700. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2023.2182691 
• Fredriksen, E., Martinez, S., Moe, C. E., & Thygesen, E. (2020). Key challenges and best practices in the coordination of volunteers in healthcare services: A qualitative systematic review. Health and Social Care in the Community, 29(6), 1607-1620. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13261 
• Hammon, S. D., Gillis, W. E., & Icenogle, M., L. (2022). From social responsibility to employee engagement: Evidence from the public sector. Journal of Management and Governance, 27(4), 1223-1247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-022-09648-3 
• Harper, M.G., & Maloney, P. L. (Eds.). (2022). Nursing professional development: Scope and standards of practice, 4^th ed. Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD).
• Oermann, M., De Gagne, J., & Phillips, B. (2018). Teaching in nursing and role of the educator: The complete guide to best practice in teaching, evaluation, and curriculum development (2^nd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.
• Opperman, C., Liebig, D., Bowling, J., Johnson, C. S., & Harper, M. (2016). Measuring return on investment for professional development activities: Implications for practice. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 32(4), 176-184. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000274
• Solomon, J. (2021). Going above and beyond: Using nursing theories to explore volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Nursing, 30(21), 1238-1240.
• Vannier, C., Mulligan, H., Wilkinson, A., Elder, S., Malik, A., Morrish, D., Campbell, M., Kinghanm, S., & Epton, M. (2021). Strengthening community connection and person well-being through volunteering in New Zealand. Health and Social Care in the Community, 29(6), 1971-1979. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13340 
• Woody, D. (May, June, July 2020). Nurses and the volunteer role: Feeding the soul. Virginia Nurses Today, 28(2) 16-19.
• World Telehealth Initiative. (n.d.). A global mission. Retrieved May 28, 2025, from https://www.worldtelehealthinitiative.org/mission