Teddie Potter
on Nursing the Planetary Health
When nurses speak, people listen.
For many years now, nurses have been voted the most trusted profession according to a poll conducted by Gallup. This comes with high responsibility, as they have the obligation to protect and preserve our lives and help us become healthier and more resilient.
Teddie Potter believes they are also ethically obliged to integrate climate change into their work, as regeneration is the path to being fully alive: “All health professions are dedicated to protecting and preserving life, and the only way we are going to do that is to address climate change and prepare our patients for what’s coming.” Her solution? Nurses teaching people health literacy.
That’s how her climate story began: she noticed pattern changes in bird migration, plant blooming, or disappearing ice to indicate something was happening. She realized climate care is, actually, health care: “As the planet changes, there will be huge implications for human health, as well as the health of all species.”
Her genuine care and drive led her to her purpose: she was appointed the first Director of Planetary Health for the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota, where she is also a Fellow of the Institute on the Environment.
Teddie also initiated the Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, a nonprofit devoted to climate action and policy work, currently chairs Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Planetary Health Alliance at Harvard University. She is a member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and the Coordinating Committee of Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education.
In the book written with Riane Eisler, Transforming Interprofessional Partnerships: A New Framework for Nursing and Partnership-Based Healthcare, they provide nurses and other healthcare workers practical tools to build a more effective, caring, and sustainable healthcare system. They show how healthcare professionals can actually build real interprofessional teams and be full partners with patients, families, communities, and one another. Teddie believes we should all reflect upon this question:
“Whatever you’re doing, you need to be asking - is this promoting planetary health or is it contributing to the problem?”
Read Teddie’s answers for Inspirators and think of ways we can all shift healthcare relationships from hierarchies of domination to high-functioning, collaborative teams ready to be full partners. Human partners in service of Life.
Thank you, Teddie, for being a Planetary Health Nurturer!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Teddie Potter
Company / Institution: University of Minnesota School of Nursing
Title: Director of Planetary Health; PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP
Website: https://nursing.umn.edu/our-faculty-staff/our-faculty/teddie-potter
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teddie-potter/
Country of origin: USA
Country you currently live in: USA
Your personal definition of Regeneration: Regeneration is the path to being fully alive. It means continuously learning and seeking new knowledge, and new opportunities to apply that knowledge toward a better future for others.
Main business challenge you face: Encountering others who do not believe humanity will evolve fast enough to survive our current crises or people who take all that they can without regard for future generations.
Main driver that keeps you going: I can see that a better future is possible and I owe it to my grandchildren and all those yet to be born to do all that I can to make that future manifest.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: I see everything as being interconnected.
The trait you most value in others: Kindness shown to others.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: I take great delight in Nature and learning new and remarkable aspects of the natural systems around me. I never cease to be amazed and awed by the intricacies of life from the tiniest particles to the farthest galaxies.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: As a nurse, my greatest teachers have included the people that I have cared for. Some of the most profound insights have come from people whose days are numbered and from children who still believe everything is possible.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Let go of the need to control. Be receptive to emerging trends and knowledge in unexpected places and from unexpected sources.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: “New and improved” and “natural disasters”.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: You are here because all the people who lived before you dared to make tough decisions, and kept going even when the future looked bleak. We too owe that commitment to life to those who will follow us.
Books that had a great impact on you: Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Must-reads for any regenerative professional:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta
Tinker at Pilgrim Creek by Annie Dillard
Movies or Documentaries you would watch all over again: Anything written or produced by David Attenborough.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: The Commons Social Change Library.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Enya and the Chieftains especially if I am on a road trip.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Visiting the San (Bushman) people of the Kalahari Desert.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow: Planetary Health Alliance.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Tiny forests and the hybrid poplar that grows 5-8′ a year. What a wonderful, and beautiful solution to the need to rapidly draw down greenhouse gases.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): Any college or university. Young people are a constant source of inspiration!
Events we should attend: Minnesota State Fair. There is nothing like it. From homemade quilts to the largest vegetables; from crop art to 4-H kids with their prized rabbits, it is a celebration of the deep interconnection of humans with Nature.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: I belong to numerous nursing professional organizations because nurses have been the most trusted profession for 21 years in a row according to the Gallup poll. When we get together, much good is possible.
Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses, trainings, or certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: I highly recommend courses taught by Marshall Ganz. He is a renowned expert on social organizing and change.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: We are waking up. Humans are beginning to realize the environmental threats that face us. Shaking off denial is the first step in solving the problem. Decades ago, the most common question people asked me was: “How do you know that climate change is real?” The most common question I receive now is: “What can I do to address climate change?” and that gives me hope.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Lack of trust in science and unquestioning acceptance of fake news makes it difficult for us to respond to the social and environmental crises that we are facing.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Regenerative leaders demonstrate an ability to listen with humility to all views and all sides before making a decision. Having a vision for what is possible and the ability to help others see that vision and feel inspired to work together to make it happen are qualities that are desperately needed today.
The #inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Riane Eisler (founder of the Center for Partnership Systems)
The quote that inspires you:
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage"
(Anais Nin)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
