Developing curriculum recommendations for environmental health in nursing.

In 2010, the American Nurses Association (ANA) added an environmental health standard to the ANA Scope and Standards of Practice requiring that nurses implement environmental health strategies in nursing practice. To prepare nurse educators to integrate environmental health at all educational levels, nursing faculty members from the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments developed environmental health competencies and curricular recommendations that address this need. Internet URLs are included for environmental health curricula for each level of nursing education.

Nursing education's response to the 1995 Institute of Medicine Report: Nursing, Health, and the Environment.

PROBLEM: Although environmental health has been central to nursing practice since the work of Florence Nightingale, the inclusion of environmental health concepts into nursing education has, for the most part, been confined to public health and occupational health nursing. The 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, clearly stated that environmental health was an important aspect of nursing practice, but nurses were not adequately educated to address such in their practice. METHODS: This article highlights the initiatives by nurse educators, faculty development programs, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations to educate and engage nurses in environmental health since 1995, with a focus on the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. The historical summary was developed using professional literature, documents, personal interviews, and survey data. FINDINGS: Nurses responded to the mandates of the 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, in formal educational programs, through continuing education for nurses, workshops, symposia, and regional faculty development trainings. Since the formation of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, collaborative efforts led to the development of competencies, nursing outreach to organizations such as the American Nursing Association, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to advance practice standards, academic curriculum, and the development of an electronic textbook. CONCLUSION: The environmental health nursing agenda moved forward since the publication of the 1995 IOM report; however, the development of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments accelerated the educational accomplishments through organizational collaboration.

Teaching/learning strategies for the essentials of baccalaureate nursing education for entry-level community/public health nursing.

The purpose of this article is to describe teaching/learning strategies for each of the 15 Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education for Entry-Level Community/Public Health Nursing (ACHNE, 2009). Carper's ways of knowing serve as foundations for creating classroom and clinical experiences that focus on clinical action with community as client. Each community/public health essential is defined with relevance to community/public health nursing practice. Five teaching/learning strategies have been delineated for each essential with suggestions of teaching resources and/or target population application. Teaching/learning strategies that focus on community as client, population health, and the essential knowledge and competencies of C/PH nursing will help ensure preparation of baccalaureate prepared nurses with knowledge and skills to improve the health of populations.