Category A: Courses in Environmental Sustainability – 5 Points
HLSC 2550: Intro to Pathophysiology HLSC 2650: Health Science 4: Pathophysiology HLSC 3550: Health Science 5: Advanced Pathophysiology
Pathophysiology is deeply related to environmental sustainability due to the complexity of chronic illnesses and how the environment impacts them. Chronic illnesses including, but not limited to, asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease and hypertension are all largely impacted by environmental factors. Likewise, with cancers such as skin and lung. This course discussed in depth how physiological processes become disordered due to disease or injury, often associated with environmental hazards. This course was pertinent to my education as a nurse, as I can identify environmental factors that may be causing poor health for my patients. Moreover, I can advocate for better and safe living environments to help reduce the risk of environmental exposures. And finally, I can educate my patients on how environmental hazards may be impacting their health and demonstrate healthy and more environmentally sustainable choices to improve their overall quality of life.
Moving forward in my nursing career, I can use this pathophysiological lens to inform my decisions and incorporate more environmentally sustainable practices. For example, I can be more conscientious about the products that I use and their influence on the environment and my health. This may include reducing my carbon footprint and reducing fossil fuel use. By doing so, I would be doing my part in improving air quality which would impact everyone affected by respiratory illnesses. Similarly, I can educate my patients on these lifestyle choices to encourage them to also reduce their carbon footprint.
NURS/HLSC 3830: Global Health Perspectives
This global health perspectives course explored how the environment and health are intricately related. Through this course, I gained a greater perspective on how natural disasters, chronic illnesses, pandemics, and social determinants of health are all connected to the environment. More specifically, I learned about how climate change threatens the health and wellbeing of people across the globe. According to The World Health Organization, climate change is the biggest health threat facing humanity as it threatens necessities for good health including clean drinking water and air, safe shelter, and bountiful food supplies. Throughout this course, we related global health and environmental health concerns to our role as nursing professionals. As a nurse who advocates for environmental health and sustainability, I must be prepared to care for patients facing these global health challenges as our planet continues to deteriorate.
NURS 3500: Health 4: Health/Community Development
This community health course largely explored factors that influence social and community health, including ecological determinants of health and environmental health perspectives. Environmental health includes all external physical, chemical, and biological factors. From a health perspective, we use this environmental lens to create health-supportive environments, prevent disease, and educate our patients. Moreover, the ecological determinants of health, including clean water, oxygen, soil, recourse for energy, and material for shelter, are necessary to sustain all life on health. From a community health perspective, we as nurses must assess how the ecological determinant of health impact the health of communities and society.
I gained a deeper appreciation for the impact that these ecological determinants have on our communities and how I can make change as a registered nurse.
Category D: Environmental or Social Organizations – 1 Point
Canadian Nursing Student Association (CNSA) First year Representative
The CNSA represents the national voice of Canadian nursing students and their interested in healthcare organizations, media, and government. This association provides opportunities for nursing students to become more involved in healthcare issues and health promotion, including environmental aspects. As the First year Representative, I met with the TRU CNSA committee every month to bring forth concerns, interests, and opinions from the first-year’s of the nursing program. I would then share the meeting discussions with my classmates and solicit them to be involved in our activities. We worked on social, political, and environmental initiatives to enhance population health. One example would be our Nursing in Global Disasters and Crises webinar which shared stories from professionals on a nurses role during global disasters such as earthquakes.
Category E: Extra Curricular Knowledge Sharing: Attending Events – 3 points
Me to We Conference Vancouver (2010)
I was chosen among several other students from Vernon Secondary School (VSS) to attend the 2012 Me to We Conference in Vancouver, BC. This two-day event , held by Free the Children, aims to empower youth to make global change, highlighting global health concerns, human rights, social injustice, poverty, and environmental impacts. This conference had presentations from like-minded individuals who had made impacts at a local and global scale. The conference inspired many of us to participate at the micro-level to influence change in our communities. In particular, the group of students from VSS initiated a composting and recycling program at our high school with the funds going to a local charity. Further from that, this conference was a steppingstone to our volunteer trip to Ghana Africa in 2013.
NURS 1730: On The Land Experience at Pipsel Lake (2018)
This conference is an invite-only event held in Vancouver where policy staff and senior fellows join in sessions discussion an array of complex policy issues. This conference had several other presentations, focusing on economic and environmental impacts around the world. One of the presentations was on the myths of local food policy, which shared lessons from the economic and social history of the food system. This presentation touched on the benefits and disadvantages of local and global agricultural systems. The presentation further touched on the potential threats leading to a less secure, more expensive, and more environmental damaging food supply.
Fraser Institute Student Colloquium Conference (2019)
This conference is an invite-only event held in Vancouver where policy staff and senior fellows join in sessions discussion an array of complex policy issues. This conference had several other presentations, focusing on economic and environmental impacts around the world. One of the presentations was on the myths of local food policy, which shared lessons from the economic and social history of the food system. This presentation touched on the benefits and disadvantages of local and global agricultural systems. The presentation further touched on the potential threats leading to a less secure, more expensive, and more environmental damaging food supply.
Category F: Environmental Sustainability Course Related Work – 6 points
HLSC: 2550: COPD Concept Map HLSC: 2550: CRF Patho-flow HLSC: 2560: Burn Case Study HLSC: 2560: SUD Homework HLTH: 3500: Hypersensitivity Reaction Patho-flow PHARM: 2660: Mind Mapping Case Study
Throughout my nursing degree, we have learned in depth about various illnesses, diseases, and conditions and the pathophysiology behind them. This includes, of course, environmental factors which can exacerbate or introduce illnesses. In particular, during the pathophysiology courses, we have emphasized the importance of considering how environmental factors and conditions can either create an illness or exacerbate it. In the context of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), substance use disorder (SUD), chronic renal failure (CRF), Type IV hypersensitivity reactions (such as, contact dermatitis), and burns, there are many environmental factors that can be considered. For example, for burn patients we must consider the damage caused from fires (i.e. the degree of burn) as well as the damaged caused by smoke inhalation. In addition to this, we must also consider the possible long-term adverse effects of inhaling toxic material during a fire. Damage to the lungs from environmental disasters such as forest fires or house fires, can cause long term lung disease such as pulmonary fibrosis or COPD. Moreover, people who already have these pulmonary disease are at extreme risk for disease exacerbation during a forest fire. This include patients with pre-existing COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, lung cancer, or pneumonia.
In another example, hypersensitivity reactions are typically a result of an environmental exposure, inducing an allergic reaction. This is demonstrated with poison ivy, when the first introduction to the plant causes a sensitization phase, followed by the elicitation phase, otherwise known as the type IV hypersensitivity reaction. Similarly, patients with asthma as often triggered by environmental factors such as smoke, cold/dry air, pollens, ambient particulate matter, pollutants, dust, humidity, and/or animal dander. It is important as nurses to be aware of these environmental triggers and how they may influence our patients health. Having this basic understanding of environmental triggers enables me to care for my patients quicker, as I am able to more accurately identify when an illness or condition may be influenced by the environment.
Moreover, my undergraduate degree has provided me with a strong foundation for understanding pharmacology. Through these courses, I grew to understand how certain medications can be influenced by the environment and/or environmental exposures that a patient may experience. These factors can alter the half-life of the medication and/or the assimilation process. Further, a patient may be predisposed to adverse reactions to drastic changes in the environment, depending on the type of medication that they are taking. Some patients may experience intensified symptoms, such as dizziness, SOB, nausea, and diaphoresis, if they take their medications during extreme heat waves. Similarly, extreme temperatures can physically alter medications and affect their potency.
In addition, some chronic diseases and other illnesses can be influenced and/or caused by the environment. These may include bipolar disorder, various cancers, thyroid disease, kidney disease, various heart disease/conditions, degenerative diseases, and fertility issues. As we continue to advance in health care and environmental health, we learn more and more about how we impact the environment, and it in turn impacts us.
In this way, health care and nursing can use an environmentally sustainable lens to consider all aspects of health. Whether it’s the nature of a disease, potential disease exacerbations, health risks, or damage from environmental disaster; the environment plays a large role in individual and community health and wellbeing. The intersection between a biomedical nursing lens and an environmental sustainability lens considers living conditions, pathophysiology, and epidemiology. With this knowledge, I can provide more informed care to my patients and I am equipped to provide nursing care throughout all potential environmental disasters.
I have attached below some examples of assignments that I have completed throughout my nursing degree that are related to and/or discuss environmental factors.