NUR 318: Climate Changes Health

Course Description

This 1 credit baccalaureate nursing course examines the nurses’ role in anticipating, identifying, mitigating and preventing the health effects related to climate change. The effects of climate change have been seen all across the globe as significant weather events such as severe storms, extreme heat, droughts, and rising sea levels. Climate change poses an emergent threat to public and environmental health impacting human health over the lifespan. Each of us can have a role in the action to combat climate change. This course will provide an overview of climate change, populations most at risk for the effects on health, and actions that can be taken to prevent or mitigate the effects on health including advocacy, social justice, and education. This course is designed for students to explore their own interests related to climate change, share what they have learned with their peers and apply the course resources to develop a teaching project developed for the student’s community. Students are guided to further consider integrating change in their homes, communities and workplace.

(1 credit)

Prerequisites

• Admission to the RN/ADN to BSN Program or Permission of the Program Director
• ENG 101: English Composition 1
• ENG 102: English Composition 2

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs):

1. Utilize and apply knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical decision-making skills to make sound judgments that identify and address individual, population, and organizational challenges
2. Guided by the acquisition of a liberal arts education, utilize an ethical framework to advocate for the health of communities amid economic, political, social, and demographic forces.
3. Integrate determinants of health and patients’ cultural beliefs and practices into the delivery and management of care to promote health across the lifespan.
4. Interact using effective communication skills with communities and interprofessional team members that fosters mutual respect and shared decision making to enhance health of communities.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Upon completion of this course, the student will have gained knowledge about:

1. Identify two contributing factors to climate change.
2. Identify two characteristics of climate change.
3. Recognize at least one population vulnerable to the health effects of climate change.
4. Recognize at least two health effects due to climate change.
5. Discuss the nurses’ role in anticipating, identifying, mitigating and preventing the health effects related to climate change.
6. Create a project to inform a community about anticipating, identifying, mitigating or preventing the health effects related to climate change.

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

• There are no required textbooks to purchase for this course. The course materials will be provided in the course.

Recommended Resource

• American Psychological Association (2019). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. American Psychological Association. ISBN-13: 978-1433832154

Course Schedule

10142022

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.