Creative approaches towards protecting the planet in clinical skills and simulation in nursing education

As we ponder the bigger picture of environmental issues, sustainability and global challenges as a society, we note that planetary health and sustainability is a theme at the next NET/NEP conference to be held in Singapore, Oct 2024 (Elsevier 2024). We have been reviewing some of our practices, particularly within our undergraduate nursing programmes and the materials we use in our clinical skills labs to set one context and to hopefully trigger some discussion for the reader. We are also responding to the Royal College of Nursing positioning statement (2019) “recognising climate change undermines the very foundations of our health” linked to the WHO equally stating that climate change is the “defining health challenge of our time” (WHO, 2023).

Within all UK undergraduate nursing programmes, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), our professional body requires all candidates to undertake 50% theory and 50% clinical practice in their curricula and this approach is common across a wide range of programmes outside of the UK (Morgan et al., 2024). We are all aware that within our programmes an element of preparation is required for the acquisition of clinical skills prior to learners going into their mandatory clinical placements. Many Faculties also provide opportunities in purpose-built simulation or clinical skills labs (Borneuf & Haigh, 2010).