Education on the Sustainable Development Goals for nursing students: Is Freire the answer?

Significant global events in recent years have had a substantial impact on the nursing profession. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and systemic racism are a few of the many complex issues that create a landscape of disruption and uncertainty in healthcare. With the aims of protecting both people and the planet, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals offer a road map to combat these global concerns, yet require more widespread consideration as a way forward. Education on the Sustainable Development Goals is recognised as a key aspect for healthcare professionals to take action towards achieving the targets of the goals. For student nurses, the undergraduate curriculum offers an opportunity to enculturate future nurses on the important role they play in the global agenda to transform our world. Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire's theoretical approach to education, critical pedagogy, espouses transformation with conscientization, dialogue and liberation, which may create a paradigm shift toward global action. This discussion paper seeks to provide an argument for embedding the Sustainable Development Goals into nursing curricula using the philosophies of Freire's critical pedagogy. It will argue that a critical approach to education is required to create the transformation needed for student nurses to be educated on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: In 2015, all member states that comprise the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of ambitious and inclusive targets toward global economic, social, and environmental betterment. Nurses have a key role to play in the achievement of the SDGs. The aim of this article was to conduct a scoping review to synthesize the literature related to nursing and the SDGs. METHODS: This scoping review utilized Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework. Several electronic databases were searched for literature published from 2015 to 2020 using the key words "nurse OR nurses OR nursing" and "Sustainable Development Goals OR SDGs". FINDINGS: A total of 447 articles were identified through the databases searches, of which 35 articles were deemed relevant and included for final review and content analysis. Analysis of relevant literature on nursing and the SDGs revealed two distinct, yet connected, perspectives: the nurse and the profession. CONCLUSIONS: Individual nurses may feel disconnected from the SDGs and struggle to relate the goals to their clinical role, calling for an increase in awareness and education on the goals. The wider profession could also increase both research and policy with relation to the SDGs, strengthening nursing's position to have a voice in and contribute towards achievement of the goals. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Individual nurses and the wider nursing profession have opportunities to more meaningfully contribute to the SDGs, beginning with an increased awareness through education and a commitment to research and participation in local and global decision making.

Nursing action towards the sustainable development goals: Barriers and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Climate change, poverty, hunger and complex diseases are just some of the many wicked problems impacting human health. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to alleviate these and many other global issues. Although the nursing profession is paramount to successfully achieving the goals, nurses require increased education to maximise their contributions. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of education on graduate nurses' action towards the Sustainable Development Goals. DESIGN: This study applied a qualitative case study methodology. SETTING: The study took place within an Australian Higher Education institution. Graduate nurses working in clinical settings were invited to reflect on the Sustainable Development Goals. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included thirteen graduate nurses (n = 13) working in a variety of clinical settings that had completed the final year capstone subject. METHODS: Individual semi-structured interviews were undertaken with graduate nurses who undertook education on the Sustainable Development Goals in an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing capstone subject. The interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. FINDINGS: Data was analysed through two lens focusing on the barriers and opportunities for action towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Three core barriers were identified as 'Drowning'; 'Powerless'; and 'Invisible'. Three key opportunities were designated as 'War on Waste'; 'Front and Centre'; and 'Revolutionary Leadership'. CONCLUSIONS: Educating undergraduate nurses on the Sustainable Development Goals had limited impact on specific graduate nurses' action towards the goals due to significant barriers within the healthcare system. However, graduate nurses recognised the importance of contributing to the goals and identified opportunities for future action. Education providers and the healthcare industry should work in partnership to create a more sustainable future for healthcare.

Enlightening and empowering students to take action: Embedding sustainability into nursing curriculum.

Graduate nurses are set to face complex global challenges in their future careers. Yet, current pedagogical practices fall short in preparing the future workforce for what lies ahead. There is, thus, an urgent need to disrupt traditional nursing education methods in order to transform our society. Transformation includes ensuring our students are educated on their responsibility toward social, economic and environmental sustainability. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of global targets developed by the United Nations, offer a framework for engaging in higher education that promotes a better future; however, to date there are few examples of how the goals have been embedded into nursing curriculum. This article showcases a case study of how the SDGs can be integrated and taught in nursing higher education through the principles of critical pedagogy. Through significant course re-development in an Australian undergraduate nursing course, students engaged with the SDGs along a transformative continuum of enlightenment and empowerment to awaken critical consciousness. While this article offers some findings in relation to student development, the article's key contribution is in detailing the methodology and framework for embedding SDGs in nursing curricula and to encourage other nursing academics to take up the challenge to empower their students' to take action toward addressing global sustainability challenges.