As both a nurse and a Regional Chairperson, I have access to the BCNU “Update” Magazine in both digital and print formats. The most recent edition, July/August 2019, was on par to other editions in that it gave a great summary of different topics affecting nurses across BC. Of particular interest in relation to this weeks blog post is the story on pages 39-41 reflecting what a growing number of nurses and nursing students are bringing focus to – Climate Change. The article talks about how climate change is affecting heath in situations such as air quality, forest fires, droughts and their effect on cardiovascular health. The article also outlined how nursing students noted their 4 year curriculum did not give any significant time to learning more about climate change – something the students feel is “… the biggest public health issue of the century…” (Page 40). The students took the opportunity in their Leadership courses to create a nursing organization – Nursing Students for Environmental Action Today (NEAT) to begin working to change the focus of their educational program and institution. The article has further reference to the BCNU position statement on Climate Change – set to be published later this year which students were invited to collaborate on.
This article demonstrates how students themselves are changing the trends of nursing education and the focus of their studies. When I attended nursing school, our ideas were listened to, but little uptake to realize new focus ever occurred. It is exciting and empowering for me to see nursing students having the ability to positively impact the future of nursing and be supported to do so. Nursing students can access online programs, obtain some credit for volunteer and union activities, and as shown by the referenced article – make a change to bring attention to an issue of importance to them.
Young Nurses Take Action on Climate Change (July/August 2019). Update Magazine. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/bcnursesunion/docs/update_july-august_2019?fr=sZDJhNDE4MDY1
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