title: Implementing AACN's recommendations for environmental sustainability in colleges of nursing: from concept to impact.
abstract: In 2011, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) released a guidance report titled Toward an Environmentally Sustainable Academic Enterprise: An AACN Guide for Nursing Education. The report was developed in response to a vivid slide presentation at an AACN meeting depicting the deleterious public and environmental health effects of global industrialization. Following the presentation, AACN members capitalized on the opportunity to provide national leadership to U.S. colleges of nursing in regard to environmental sustainability and stewardship. This article summarizes key features of the AACN plan and outlines one college's multifaceted implementation plan. The goal of the implementation plan was to translate the AACN recommendations from concept into college-specific actions. Specific steps taken by the college included the following: (a) increasing student and faculty awareness, (b) greening business operations, (c) increased participation in media events, (d) leveraging the impact of national sustainability initiatives, and (e) enhancing curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Through this work, the college achieved not only a higher standard of sustainability within its own walls but also a richer appreciation of the importance of educating nurses as future stewards in an environmentally sustainable health care system.
authors.affiliation: Dean and Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, WA.. Electronic address: pbutter@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butterfield
authors.affiliation: Sustainability Coordinator, St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, Montana.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schenk
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, WA.
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eide
authors.affiliation: Clinical Assistant Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, WA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Postma
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, WA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, WA.
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oneal
mesh_terms: D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D007857:Leadership; D012579:Schools, Nursing; D012956:Societies, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Environmental health; Environmental sustainability; Nursing education; Nursing policy