Institution and Partner Organisations

• University College Cork
• Health Services Executive

Description

This initiative was developed within the context of a growing climate crisis and burgeoning evidence on the significant impact of healthcare on our carbon footprint. Health services in developed countries are thought to account for 5-15% of carbon emissions. There is a growing urgency surrounding the need for urgent climate action and to respond to alarming climate change. There is ongoing significant investment in the health service through building retrofitting and, according to the HSE’s Climate Action Strategy 2023 – 2050, more climate friendly heating & cooling systems to help meet public sector energy-related climate targets. Those on the frontline of healthcare often feel they have the least opportunity to make changes toward more sustainable healthcare delivery.

The goal of this final year elective module is that nursing and midwifery students will gain an understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their relevance to healthcare.

I wanted to support students with gaining an understanding of the SDGs as a globally accepted strategic framework, language, philosophy and plan of action to address the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. This module also seeks to help students with relating sustainability to healthcare needs. Finally, students gain an understanding of the climate crisis as a health crisis. To do this we relate sustainability to healthcare practices and work towards seeing health professionals as climate champions engaging in climate-smart healthcare.

The new module content was developed by combining evidence from recent peer reviewed publications in healthcare and sustainability with teaching materials developed by the team on the EU Erasmus+ funded NurSus project. A collaboration with the German partner in this project enabled access to their materials and reusable learning objects. Some of these were used to structure lectures and were supplemented by additional more updated content. The lecture titles and core subjects were then mapped against the 17 SDGs and the 7 learning outcomes for the module. Students therefore could easily see how their learning related to the SDGs.

At the beginning of the module students were assigned to one of five groups each with a preassigned focus on one of 5 challenges in healthcare sustainability which they would work on ahead of the module assessment.

• Issue 1 Waste management in clinical settings
• Issue 2 Aprons and Gloves: usage and overuse
• Issue 3 Food Waste in hospitals
• Issue 4 Energy and Water usage in healthcare
• Issue 5 Single-use plastics in healthcare

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Have a deep understanding of the 17 UNSDGs and an awareness of the 169 targets
• Relate sustainability to healthcare needs and the climate crisis as a health crisis in a multiplicity of global contexts
• Understand the impact of climate change on health care needs of populations
• Describe the role of health professionals in achieving many of the UNSDGs
• Understand the intersectionality of the UNSDGs across environmental, social and economic areas of the social world inhabited by our patients and clients
• Be a proactive and well-informed health professional who relates their practices to the UNSDGs and is a committed climate champion.
• Promote the use of the UNSDGs as a measure of quality practices and research.

Teaching and Learning Approach

This initiative took a transformative learning pedagogy as it engaged students in sustainable healthcare positioning them as change agents. This approach encouraged critical reflection on existing practices and norms, prompting them to question assumptions and envision new ways of delivering more sustainable healthcare. By empowering them to work together and research their specific issue, students underwent transformative learning making them active contributors to more sustainable healthcare. This not only builds knowledge but also cultivates their role as change agents and future climate champions.

Assessment Strategy

On the day of the elevator pitches the venue was set up with 5 stands (one for each group) at which students could bring props, illustrative data, images, laptops or any other materials that to assist in getting their message across to their audience. Sustainability of these materials and the avoidance of waste was naturally of importance.

Collectively, the presentations of students in the group will address the questions:

• What is the issue?
• What do we know about it?
• What can we do about it?
• What impact might solutions have on practices?
• If we make changes, which of the SDGs will we be working towards?

Students were encouraged to draw on their experiences in clinical practices and on research-based evidence from current literature. Attendees could move from stand to stand to hear the various pitches and could be asked by the module team to provide feedback on students’ presentations.

Student presentations were assessed as groups using a rubric for group presentations adapted from the work of Garcia-Ros (2011).

Impact and Outcomes

This initiative has impacted on the capacity of participating students to understand the impact of healthcare activities on the sustainability of health services and has enabled them to act as change agents in their role as health professionals. The module has been evaluated very positively by students and has received very positive review from the external examiner for the programmes. Collaboration with health services colleagues has also been developed leading to important benefits for ongoing research and educational activities.

Collaboration, Partnerships & Student Participation

The assessment involves students preparing to give an ‘elevator pitch’ on these core issues at a specially arranged open session. The session was open to all students and staff of the College of Medicine and Health, as well as other outside invitees. Outside invitees included the members of the Green committees in each of the hospitals, the HSE Sustainability officer, the Cork Healthy Cities co-ordinator and other relevant stakeholders. Students in each group worked together to research their allocated issue and to prepare to each give up to 2-minute informal presentation (elevator pitch) on the issue with a solution-focused approach.

Student Engagement

25 per cohort. So far overall reach of 75 students.

Disciplines

• Education
• Health and Welfare
• Teaching and Learning

Programme

BSc Nursing and BSc Midwifery

Best Practices & Resources

Top Tips

• Empower and allow students to act as change agents – they have great powers of influence and are our future colleagues who can change practices.
• Move away from traditional assessment modes for an innovative experience.
• Look internationally for work already done by others to feed into your efforts.

Useful Resources

• The module descriptor for this module can be found online at https://ucc-ie-public.courseleaf.com/modules/?details&srcdb=2025&code=NU4115
• The NurSus project and their resources can be found online at http://www.nursus.eu/
• The HSE’s Climate Strategy can be found here https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/climate-and-health/climate-change-and-health.html