Transcript:
At doctors’ offices, hospitals, and schools, nurses advise patients about their health risks and ways to protect themselves.
Nurse practitioner Gina Friel says those conversations should include talking about the health risks caused by climate change – like extreme heat waves, longer allergy seasons, and wildfire smoke.
Friel: “Nurses are an essential force for protecting those at risk from climate-related health impacts.
But research shows that less than a quarter of nurses feel confident talking to their patients about the changing climate.
Friel works with the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Her group offers online resources and a free virtual course called “Nursing on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis – Education for Action.”
It covers topics ranging from the growing threat of vector-borne disease to the mental health impacts of disasters.
When it launched last fall, more than 3,000 nurses from six continents signed up.
Friel: “And almost 70% of the registrants for the course never had any climate and health training.”
So the initiative is preparing nurses to help keep their patients safe as the climate warms.
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
