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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Laurie Ann Colborn, MSN, RN¹, Teresa Méndez-Quigley, MSW, LSW², Mary T. Bouchaud, MSN, RN, PhD-c³, Ramona Salotti, BS, RN², and Julie Becker, PhD, MPH². (1) Guest Lecturer - Community Health Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson College of Health Professionals, P.O. Box 101, Woodbury, NJ 08096, 856-384-1545, Lauria@operamail.com, (2) Women's Health & Environmental Network (WHEN), 704 North 23rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130, (3) Department of Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson College of Health Professionals, 130 South 9th Street - Suite 1202, Philadelphia, PA 19107-5233

In 1995, the Institute of Medicine¹ noted a lack of knowledge related to environmental health (EH) and nursing. In October 2003, the American Nurses Association adopted a Precautionary Principle² related to EH. The awareness that the field of nursing lacks a general environmental knowledge base has encouraged the authors to create a pilot program that will help to educate student nurses on the basics of EH and its importance within the field of nursing.

The one-year pilot program expands the current EH curriculum. The goal is to educate 75-100 student nurses about EH nursing and engage them in EH issues within their communities. Integral to the project will be the development of a student community project specific to an EH issue which will result in submission of written pieces to selected nursing publications, newspapers, letters to the editor, legislators or presentation at a community health event. This project will culminate in students, as health care advocates, the opportunity to interact with local legislators to discuss their selected issues during a session arranged by the EH advocacy group in the final class.

This collaborative effort between an EH group and a local nursing school demonstrates an innovative partnership in reaching health care professionals early in their careers to provide leadership and advocacy skills in the growing EH arena. With this pilot, students should enhance their understanding of the important role that nursing plays within EH and continue to build on their skills throughout their nursing profession.

References for superscripts 1&2 to be added upon acceptance.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants viewing this poster will learn how to engage student nurses in environmental health issues within their own communities through the integration of environmental health curricula in their public/community health nursing classes.
• Participants viewing this poster will note how student nurses begin to develop an environmental health dialogue among themselves, their legislators and the community at large, therefore increasing their advocacy for this field.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Nurses

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered