Welcome to the ANHE Education Forum!
We are a group of dedicated nurse educators in academia and clinical practice who support environmental nursing education for nursing students entering practice; advanced nursing education at the graduate level; and faculty development. We also offer a collegial place for nurse educators to collaborate with other nurses who value environmental health nursing education.
The Education Forum offers curricular recommendations to infuse environmental health nursing across nursing curricula, teaching tips to engage nursing students in environmental health as part of nursing practice, and an online, open access ANHE e-textbook, Environmental Health in Nursing. The Forum meets on a monthly basis.
Sign up for our Forum listserve so you can stay up to date with our activities: Sign up and learn more below!
For more information about the ANHE Education Forum, please contact info@envirn.org.
Resources for Nurses & Educators
Nursing curriculum often does not include content on environmental health which is critical to adequately prepare nurses and nursing students to address these issues in practice. The Education Forum has developed a number of resources for nursing students, nurses, and nursing educators/faculty to make it easier to incorporate environmental health content in curriculum and address this gap in nursing education.
Environmental Health in Nursing – Winner of the 2017 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year in Environmental Health Award, Environmental Health in Nursing is a free, easy to use, peer reviewed online textbook written by nurses. This e-textbook is an excellent resource whether you are just learning about environmental health or have more advanced knowledge. The Education Forum is currently in the process of writing the second edition. If you’d like to author a chapter or be involved with the process, join the Education Forum or reach out to info@envirn.org.
ANHE Curriculum Recommendations – The ANHE Education Forum has created environmental health recommendations for ADN, Baccalaureate, RN-BSN, and graduate nursing curricula to assist faculty in incorporating environmental health content into existing nursing curriculum. The recommendations include guidance for how specific content area can be incorporated into existing nursing courses, teaching strategies and resources, and the related nursing competencies.
Strategies for Incorporating Climate Change into Nursing Curriculum – In addition to the general environmental health recommendations, the ANHE Education Forum has developed a set of curriculum recommendations specific to climate change.
Education Forum Chairs
Kathryn P. Jackman-Murphy
Kathy Murphy, Ed.D, MSN, RN received her nursing degree from St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Waterbury, Ct and her Associate Degree in Science from Mattatuck Community College, her Bachelor’s Degree in Science from Southern Connecticut State University, Master’s Degree in Science in Nursing from the University of Hartford, and her Doctorate in Education from the University of Hartford. Her doctoral thesis was on the Confidence of New Nurse Graduates in the Application of Environmental Health in the Nursing Process. Dr. Murphy has a vast experience in pediatric nursing, working in pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Waterbury Hospital, and St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Ct, as well as a Public Health Nurse for the City of Waterbury. She has considerable experience in OB nursing having worked in the Family Birthing Center of Waterbury Hospital providing care to new families. She has taught OB clinical experiences for NVCC, Gateway Community College, Yale University and the University of Connecticut. Dr. Murphy is a Professor of Nursing at Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC), an adjunct faculty at Charter Oak State College and adjunct faculty at the University of Hartford where she teaches a course Environmental Health and Nursing. Dr. Murphy has several publications on environmental health and climate change and has presented at many conferences on these topics. She is an active member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, co-chair of the Education Workgroup and a member of the Steering Committee. She is the faculty advisor to NVCC’s NSNA chapter and former Connecticut Student Nurses Association advisor.
Jennifer Wasco
Jennifer J. Wasco, DNP, RN is an assistant professor of nursing in the department of acute and tertiary care and the director of professional development and continuing education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
Prior to a career in academia, she has worked in various healthcare settings. She created innovative nursing continuing education pieces for an international nursing organization and educated large hospital institutions on technology-driven solutions to improve health outcomes through patient engagement. She has visited Capitol Hill to meet with Congressional leaders to educate them on climate change and human health. She was an invited guest lecturer for the UCLA Carbon Neutrality Faculty Course Curriculum Workshop on how to incorporate content on climate change and sustainability into the curriculum for the schools of nursing, medicine, and dentistry.
Dr. Wasco’s scholarly work focuses on public health with attention to environmental health and climate change issues. Through advanced quality education initiatives and programming for nurses, she hopes to improve the health of the world’s people.