Scholarly Impact Report 2023

CATHERINE MCAULEY SCHOOL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY, UCC

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THEME 6 - J.U.S.T.I.C.E IN HEALTHCARE: JUST UNIVERSAL, SUSTAINABLE, TRUSTED, INCLUSIVE, CARING, & ETHICAL HEALTHCARE IN LIFE AND DEATH.

World Café on UNSDGs and Nursing and Midwifery.

The current climate and biodiversity crises have been described by the WHO as the biggest public health threat of the 21st Century. Nurses and midwives play a central role in responding to this. Not only are we the biggest group of health professionals, but research tells us that nurses are very trusted, so we must be a part of the message around climate change. We need to be advocates and do what we can in terms of lobbying policy makers and making our hospitals and healthcare more environmentally friendly. To be prepared for this we need to get climate action into healthcare, embedding sustainability and the UN sustainable development goals into our nursing and other healthcare professionals’ curriculum. The School of Nursing and Midwifery hosted a pre-conference World Café event in March 2023 where we gathered to discuss how best to embed sustainability in nursing and midwifery education. The event was led by Dr Angela Flynn who is undertaking research in this area. She said “I would like to see firm agreement and collaboration between the healthcare sector and universities on sustainability education and on reducing emissions in healthcare. There is some great work going on locally, for example, in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork they are working towards a green flag campus, are doing great work around their waste and recycling, and have been involved in a recent innovation using bio-degradable aprons for their PPE”. It is critical that we get sustainability embedded across the curriculum of healthcare professionals particularly nurses and midwives.