News Releases

University of Maryland School of Nursing Joins Global Health Educators Climate Commitment

December 4, 2015

Dean pledges School will train future health professionals to address health issues tied to climate change.

Baltimore, Md. – Today, the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) announced that it has joined the Global Health Educators Climate Commitment, joining 117 other schools from across the world to ensure their students, the next generation of health professionals, are prepared through education to effectively address the health impacts of climate change and to ensure that the world has a cadre of climate change and health experts. UMSON was one of the original schools to sign on earlier this year.

Climate change is no longer a problem for future generations – we are already feeling its effects in every corner of our nation and across the globe, which threatens our economic and national security and our health. No country is immune, and therefore all countries must act together, and that is what the Paris climate negotiations are all about. Today’s commitments reinforce how vast the impacts of climate change are and how great the opportunity to join together and address this problem together is. 

Deans who signed the Global Health Educators Climate Commitment have pledged to educate the health professionals of tomorrow, ensuring that they are fully prepared to address all health risks, including those resulting from the impacts of climate change. Future health professionals must have the competencies needed to address the health needs of various communities and its patients, both now and into the foreseeable future.

“The University of Maryland School of Nursing is fully committed to ensuring that its faculty effectively educates the next generation of nursing professionals to address the health impacts of climate change,” said UMSON Dean Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN. “We welcome the opportunity to be a part of this global initiative and are committed to strengthening the knowledge base in the area of climate and health from a position of the best science and academic rigor.”

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked sixth nationally. Enrolling more than 1,700 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.