Table 1. Nine principles of environmental health for nursing practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Human health is linked to the quality of the environment.
Air, water, soil, food, and products should be free of potentially harmful chemicals.
A healthy environment is a universal need and fundamental human right.
Environmental and social justice is a right of all populations and assumes that disparities in
health are not acceptable.
Current generations should meet their needs without compromising the ability of future gen-
erations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987).
Pollution prevention should occur at its source.
The concern of nurses is the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of people’s health.
Nurses have an obligation to address health disparities and environmental injustice.
The nurse collaborates with other professionals, policy makers, advocacy groups, and the
public in promoting local, state, national, and international efforts to meet health needs.
ANA (2007)
which they work. Therefore, it is crucial to provide
an early introduction to the concept of ecocentric
nursing practice in nursing education programs. One
area in nursing education that can provide opportu-
nities in modeling sustainable behaviors for nursing
students would be experiences in the nursing clinical
simulation lab.
With an increased need for safe, practice-ready
nursing graduates, the innovative teaching strategy
of clinical simulation is more frequently utilized in
nursing education programs (Woda, Dreifuerst, &
Garnier-Villarreal, 2019). Although current literature
supports integration of simulation scenarios in nurs-
ing programs, establishing and maintaining a nursing
clinical simulation lab can be costly. When investing
in a clinical simulation lab, nursing programs must
complete a comprehensive needs analysis for select-
ing essential durable medical equipment, supplies,
and human patient simulators. To ensure continual
financial viability, it is imperative to implement a
cost-savings plan that includes sustainable measures
in all aspects of the daily operations of the lab.
While updating and upgrading technology remains
a costly and unavoidable expense, reusable supplies
and extending simulator life are areas where sustain-
able methods can be implemented.
Recycling
Disposal of consumable products used for educa-
tional purposes results in one of the largest waste
contributors in nursing clinical simulation labs.
Examples of recyclable items in the lab are gloves,
intravenous (IV) tubing, and plastic thermometer
probe covers. Most medical waste in a clinical simu-
lation lab is clean and able to be recycled because
the items have been utilized for simulated patient
care rather than human patients. Improper disposal
of consumables can cause problems due to lack of
clearly defined instructions and awareness for re-
cycling and composting (Kangasniemi, Kallio, &
Pietilä, 2014).
Education and supportive behavior promoted the
recycling, reuse, and/or regeneration of items into
new products and compost. To address the issue of
reducing medical waste in the clinical simulation
lab, in 2013, a grant proposal was submitted by The
Pennsylvania State University (PSU) College of
Nursing (and subsequently awarded), which focused
on “Promoting Healthy People/Healthy Environ-
ments Through Medical Waste Recycling Strategies
in the Nursing Simulation Lab.” Rationale for the
grant submission focused on background information
from the ANA, the ICN, and the WHO, as referenced
Issue 74, 3 2019 Pennsylvania Nurse 15