Becoming a UN Nurse: Required Education, Qualifications, and Career Path
In this world where everything is getting connected, nurses are looking for opportunities other than the conventional health-care setting to meet global health demands. As global health priorities evolve and workforce shortages persist the demand for qualified nursing professionals in international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) continues to grow. As the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report prepares to shine a much-needed light on urgent nursing workforce issues, now is a better time than every to explore pathways to global nursing careers. This full guide looks at how nurses find work with international systems, what kind of training is required and how these roles fit in with worldwide wellbeing needs, as the world is up against an expected deficiency of 18 million medical services experts in the following 10 years.
Response to the Global Nursing Shortage Crisis
Globally, the healthcare industry is navigating through uncharted waters, and the nursing shortage is now at the top of the list of concerns for global health agencies. Investment in nursing education, human resources for health, and nursing leadership is urgently needed to ensure that the global nursing workforce is fit for purpose to meet health efforts around the world,[1] the State of the World’s Nursing 2020 report argues. This issue is now even more relevant as we approach the 2030 deadline for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
How The Landscape And Projections For The Workforce Are Today
There could be a shortage of 18 million health workers by 2030, according to the World Health Organization, and many suggest nursing is a big part of the problem, Snyder said. This shortage together jeopardizes SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and universal health coverage targets. The next State of the World’s Nursing (SOWRN) 2025 report, due on International Nurses Day 2025 will present updated evidence on metrics of the global nursing workforce; education, employment, migration, regulation and leadership.
“While some 40 million new health worker jobs are projected to be created in the health and social sector by 2030, this is far too little — far too little,” says FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics).
Shortage: Strategic Initiatives
This includes human resources strategy frameworks at WHO, ILO and others. The Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery is a roadmap created by WHO for the strengthening of the nursing profession globally. Member States will convene at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly to decide on the extension of this framework till 2030, as recommended by the 156th Executive Board in February 2025.
The framework was developed around four main pillars:
Developing capacity for education and training
Creating nursing jobs
Building leadership in nursing
Maintaining an adequate, well-balanced workforce for service delivery
These initiatives will need to contribute to broader SDG targets and acknowledge nurses as a fundamental work force in achieving health priorities beyond those of SDG 3. The evidence confirms that nurses and midwives are key to achieving all 17 SDGs through their diverse contributions to health systems, education, gender equality and economic development.
Nursing Career in Foreign Countries after 12th in the Practical Dimension.
A Global Shift to Baccalaureate Education
According to new findings from the CGFNS Nurse Migration Report 2022, clearly baccalaureate nursing education is the most popular avenue of entry into the nursing profession, and even more strongly the case when nursing is to be practiced internationally. The majority of nurses who immigrated to the United States in 2022 were educated at the baccalaureate level or above, with four of the major source countries for migration to the United States—the Philippines, Canada, Jamaica, and Korea—all stipulating BSN as the minimum credential for entry to practice.
But the trend goes beyond migration. Nationally, more than 65% of such nurses trained in the United States have received at least baccalaureate level education, and several states (e.g., New York) have recently begun requiring that nurses complete their BSN program in order to retain licensure as registered professional nurses.
International Frameworks and Specialized Programs
This means that the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA) has established five Standards for Accreditation for “a national and global quality assurance framework through which nursing programs of all types, including distance education programs, may act to effect and achieve excellence in nursing education”. For this purpose, the IEN-PT/DBS establishes standards to ensure the maintenance of the quality of nursing programs in educational institutions globally for the faculty and students.
Specialized certificate and degree programs address specific interests for nurses focused on global health. The CGN Global Nursing Certificate program offers what it claims to be a comprehensive 12-session virtual course that is intended to allow nurses “learn about global health sciences, explore global nursing practices, health systems, cultural humility and equitable partnerships in sessions led by experts”. This program is especially accessible as classes are conducted over Zoom for participants from around the world — so they’re spared travel.
Financing your International Nursing education with Scholarships
Lack of financial resources often stands in the way of qualified nurses obtaining the advanced education necessary to achieve these positions internationally. Luckily, many promising universities around the world provides scholarships to nursing students with intention to the world.
Universities such as the University of Sydney (Australia), Johns Hopkins University (USA) and King’s College London offer scholarships specifically for nursing students, “opening doors to world-class education and career opportunities in healthcare”. They can be for tuition only, or it can be to cover living expenses and sometimes also travel costs, which can make studying abroad more accessible.
Initiatives such as the Global Health Scholars at Johns Hopkins and the BridgeWay Nursing Scholarship provide tuition assistance for students seeking global health initiatives and advanced nursing specializations. These opportunities give essential support to nurses responding to career development abroad amid financial challenges.
Qualifying for Positions in the UN and International Organizations
Now, having worked with local organisations in my homeland, I moved to international organisations including the United Nations and that meant certain criteria, experiences and the path to get there that differed from an average nurse.
Minimum Qualifications And Experience Needed
(Keep in mind that UN nursing roles usually require substantial professional experience). UN job postings describe a minimum requirement of seven years of nursing experience (including the duration of the nursing training/education). A university degree (B.S. or equivalent) is compulsory in nursing, together with national registration and licensing credentials.
Although core nursing skills are fundamental, experienced nurse specialization is helpful for other opportunities overseas. If you have experience working in occupational health, public health, or travel health, then UN roles especially look for you. Previous experience in the UN Secretariat, the UN Common System or other international organizations is considered an asset, along with experience dealing with confidential and sensitive information.
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Considering the international organizations are multicultural, knowledge of foreign languages is required. English is normally expected for positions at the UN. A working knowledge of French is desirable, while a working knowledge of other UN official languages can be considered an asset. Many European nations have their own language requirements for nursing job positions — Germany requires a B2 degree in German language certification, to give an example.
Apart from the language being a formal requirement, international nursing roles require culture competence and good communication skills. Should be ready to work in different teams and among varieties of patient population. And as one source recommends for international nursing interviews: “Because we hire people from all over the world, how comfortable (1 to 10 scale) will you be working with various teams?”
Common International Nursing Roles
For the purposes of this article, I will focus on international NGOs that would recruit nurses in clinical roles. Tasks nurses may perform at the United Nations:
Conducting clinical assessments and delivering care at walk-in clinics
Responding to emergency calls
Carrying out diagnostic and screening tests
Making sure our staff are ready for international travel and missions
Dissemination of health education and promotions
Assessing the workplace environment
Tackling work health challenges
A second route for international service is humanitarian nursing. In operations such as the U.S. Navy’s Operation Unified Assistance after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, nurses presented específicas challenges in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Aid missions like these require the work of military nurses alongside those with non-governmental organizations that necessitate specialized preparatory techniques and flexible response skills.
Here I Never Knew what & Nursing Practice of Importance
International nursing roles represent a higher level of practice than clinical care alone, requiring complementary professional skills in policy, culture, and leadership that are not strictly aligned with traditional clinical or care domains (International Council of Nurses, 2018).
A Knowledge of Culture and Global Health
To work effectively across cultures requires more than language skills — it requires true cultural humility and contextual expertise. Nurses need to be aware of the diversity of different healthcare systems, disparate cultural approaches to health and wellbeing, and diverse approaches to care delivery around the globe.
Opportunities to develop these competencies exist in programs such as the International Council of Nurses’ Global Nursing Leadership Institute™ (GNLI). The GNLI picks nurses globally through a competitive process to have access to “internationally renowned facilitators and speakers, and…custom materials and online policy resources” It develops the expertise of participants to deliver better health results in different environments.
Influencing the Policy Landscape and Cultivating Leaders
“Able to deliver on the ‘access to necessary resources and opportunities’: The increasingly acknowledged importance of nurses into health policy” This can be especially vital to international settings, which is where nurses could have the potential to impact health policies that will benefit entire regions or populations.
Based on literature, nurses’ policy influence is defined as “nurses’ ability to influence decisions and matters relating to health through political knowledge, effective communication skills, and cooperation with other members of the health team, to improve the work environment of nurses and improve the patient outcome”. October 20, 2023 For nurses seeking global affiliations, policy literacy, acumen, and competence are critical for engagement and participation in global health governance.
The leadership skills can bring policy influence capabilities. The GNLI encourages nurses to “focus on personal and professional development as a foundational prerequisite to developing into a more effective leader,” which helps them establish program goals, develop competencies and work out individual development plans. Those skills are transferrable across contexts and organizations worldwide.
Organizations like AT&T and Home Depot also use these brothers in arms to pay off their student loans, while specialized training such as the Field Experience is something top-of-the-line military programs provide to all employees.
When applying for international roles, practical experience gained in varied and taxing environments greatly affects a nurse’s candidacy for the role. Programs such as the Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Fellowship are available through organizations like EACTS and allow for “in-house training, education and hands-on experience with host advanced practice professionals to enhance knowledge, skills and expertise.”
Healthcare professionals can apply for this three-week, fully funded €5,200 fellowship, which gives nurses the opportunity to choose where they would like to go and learn of international perspectives to healthcare. These programs are designed to “empower nurses and allied health professionals to gain the skills, knowledge and resources they need to be successful in their own practice through learning experiences, mentorship and collaboration”.
Humanitarian nursing poses distinct challenges that need dedicated preparation. A recent study of military nurses’ experiences supporting humanitarian missions for the USNS Mercy found training needs and competencies for effective disaster relief/humanitarian assistance. Knowing these challenges beforehand allows nurses to prepare for the complex realities of international humanitarian work.
Nursing as a Key to Global Health Goals
The breadth of nursing contributions to health systems across the globe places nurses in a prime position to lead in the advancement of the international health agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
Providing solutions towards SDGs
Nurses and midwives are pivotal in the delivery of all 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). They contribute to the decrease of maternal mortality due to contraceptive services and safe delivery care, as well as preventing avoidable neonatal and child mortality through perinatal and pediatric prevention and care.
Nurses also play a valuable role in climate mitigation and adaptation measures that are relevant to the SDGs — beyond direct healthcare delivery. For instance, while providing modern contraceptives allows nurses to increase the “female-directed control of population growth,” the female health workers also reduce fertility because of their work to help ensure child survival. These interventions help improve health outcomes and broader sustainable development goals.
Tackling Health Inequity and Access
While the worldwide shortage of nursing is a growing problem, its distribution is uneven, and the greatest net shortages by 2030 are expected to be in south-east Asia and the Pacific and Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa. These shortages pose major obstacles to reaching universal health coverage — a top target of SDG.
International nursing roles tend to address geographic inequities. As Gillian Slinger, Senior Project Manager for FIGO’s Fistula Surgery Training Initiative, explains, “the healthcare worker shortfall presents major challenges for the Sustainable Development Goals for health and wellbeing, which outlines targets such as universal health coverage to achieve health equity by 2030. As an international organization that directly addresses these inequities through service delivery, capacity building and systems strengthening, nurses working with such organizations play a pivotal role.
Emergency Response and Humanitarian Assistance
Nurses are essential to emergency response and humanitarian assistance internationally. Nurses played that role in disaster-stricken lands, for instance, during the U.S. Navy’s Operation Unified Assistance in the Indian Ocean following the 2004 tsunami there.) Those operations typically combine military nurses with those from non-governmental organizations as part of complex but successful response mechanisms.
Research has identified competencies that humanitarian nurses should possess to support relief efforts during disasters including flexibility, sensitivity to different cultures, creativity and resourcefulness, and working as part of a team. Nurses that would like to pursue international goals should cultivate these competencies through as much formal training and field experience as possible.
The Future of Nursing Jobs: Moving Toward the Global
Several trends are changing international nursing careers and helping to create new global impact for 2025 and beyond.
The movement towards baccalaureate education as the foundation of international nursing practice continues to gain momentum. Four of the leading countries to ship foreign-educated nurses to the U.S.—The Philippines, Canada, Jamaica, and Korea—have recently made it mandatory for BSN degrees to be the entry-level standard to practice, as per EPSOS findings and the Data Report on Education Standardization.
At the same time, specialized global health training programs are multiplying. A well-known example of this emerging trend is the CGN Global Nursing Certificate program, which will have its next course from January to April 2025, but there are other similar examples of targeted education for those interested in global health careers. Many of these programs offer a variety of theory and practical education to prepare nurses for the challenges of working overseas.
International Nursing: Geographic Hotspots
Nurses who have an interest in working internationally will have many options in 2025 as there are many European countries that are hiring international nurses. In Germany, they have a compensation framework from €2,000 to €3,000 euros per month, extensive relocation support services in addition to continuing education programs for specialization. Only B2 level in German is mandantory.
With continuous investment in healthcare and a supportive work environment, Ireland boasts attractive prospects for nurses while the UK entices you with its extensive National Health Service (NHS) and private healthcare systems. There is work-life balance in Sweden with admired healthcare, while in Switzerland you have great career opportunities in a dedicated healthcare system.
Contents of Executive Leadership & Policy-Making Electives
International nursing careers will be dominated in the future by leadership and policy influence. They have competitive selection processes like the Global Nursing Leadership Institute™, which selects nurses from around the world to help them develop competence to “strategically influence policy” and “enhance their capacity to work for better health outcomes”.
By imbuing policy with practical knowledge from the front lines of health care, nurses in state and national leadership roles help address systemic challenges, including workforce shortages, credentialing and education standards and innovative care delivery models. Research indicates that “nurses’ influence on policy is a dynamic process located along a continuum and is associated with nurses’ expertise, competency, power, and advocacy, as well as their willingness to advocate change.” This will keep increasing its significance in global nursing jobs.
International Your Gateway to International Nursing Impact
Becoming a nurse and working in the UN and other international organizations take planning, preparation, and hard work for you to get there. As global health challenges grow—from the estimated deficit of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030 to the ongoing struggle for universal health coverage—qualified nurses with international experience and global health knowledge will become ever more indispensable.
Nurses can best prepare for these opportunities by pursuing advanced education, with baccalaureate degrees increasingly the minimum for international practice (AACN, 2014). Moreover, specialized training in global health, cultural competence, and humanitarian nursing is beneficial. Fluency in any of the six official languages of the United Nations, such as English and French, improves the chances of obtaining international positions.
It shows you should have at least seven years of nursing experience, preferably in an international, occupational health, or public health setting, an at least seven years of experience requirement which applies to all UN positions. Field work also may give you relevant competencies — such as fellowships, exchange programs and volunteer work with humanitarian organizations.
As the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report is being prepared to take stock of our knowledge about the dynamics of the global nursing workforce, nurses around the world find themselves with limitless opportunities to contribute to global health priorities and to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. By investing in strategic education, focused skill development, and relentless pursuit of international opportunities, nurses can prepare themselves for voices in global careers that reach into the world far beyond the walls of a hospital.
Both challenge and opportunity await the future of global nursing. International nursing careers provide opportunities to make significant contributions to the health of the world stage—advancing health equity, responding to humanitarian crises, and working on the policies that will determine healthcare generations from now—for those willing to invest in the education, experience and skills required.
