We believe that the impacts of the environment on health and healthcare should be part of the curriculum for medical students, doctors in training and all health professionals.
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Undergraduate Medical Training
The Sustainable Healthcare Education (SHE) network is a fast-growing group of clinicians, academics and students who have been developing teaching materials linked to Tomorrow’s Doctors outcomes. In the coming academic year, these materials and approaches will be tested in a range of medical school settings and evaluated collectively to produce data beyond a series of school-based case studies.
Exchange of knowledge and experience are supported through an email discussion group and through regular telephone meetings.
The network is coordinated by Stefi Barna of the Public Health Educators in Medical Schools (PHEMS) network, and by Frances Mortimer from CGH, working with the NHS Sustainable Development Unit and with the student organisation, Medsin.
- Visit the Sustainable Healthcare Education (SHE) Network pages
- To find case studies from 2009-10 click here.
- To download the SHE learning package 2010-11, click here.
- To join the SHE-info-list email list to receive occasional updates about the network, sign up here.
- If you are a medical student or involved in teaching medical students and would like to represent your medical school within the SHE Network, please contact Frances Mortimer or Stefi Barna.
Additional learning resources on this topic are brought together through the Sustainable Healthcare Education (SHE) Network. The Bristol student-selected module on "Global Environment and Human Health" is also discussed in the Greener Healthcare podcast A Very Large Patient.
In partnership with The Climate Connection, The Campaign for Greener Healthcare has created Carbon Addict - a humorous, illustrated website linking high-carbon lifestyles, health, and health interventions.
Postgraduate Medical Training / CPD
Sustainable Healthcare Fellowships: The Green Nephrology Fellowships in 2009-10 allowed the secondment of a specialist trainee in renal medicine to work full time on sustainability of kidney care for one year. This model has been extremely successful: harnessing the Fellow’s detailed understanding of renal care to address sustainability issues, increasing ownership of the programme among the clinical community, and supporting professional development of a trainee in both medical leadership and sustainable healthcare – enabling him to gain an MD from the University of Warwick Medical School.
CGH is developing further sustainable specialty programmes in mental health, cancer care and occupational therapy, and is proposing both Leadership and Academic postgraduate fellowships in each specialty.
In addition, CGH is providing educational supervision to a GP trainees in the Severn Deanery in 2010-11 and 2011-12 through a new Sustainable Healthcare Scholarship Programme.
Masters level courses are proposed in sustainable healthcare. CGH has worked with Warwick Medical School to create the first masters level course in Health Care and Environmental Sustainability.
Postgraduate curricula: CGH has submitted a proposal to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on the development of sustainable healthcare within postgraduate curricula, has contributed to sustainability content in the Royal College of General Practitioners curriculum, and is contributing to questions in the Royal College of Psychiatrists examinations.
E-learning: CGH has collaborated in two BMJ Learning e-learning modules on Climate Change and Health and is exploring further opportunities for e-learning.
Nursing and allied health professions
Pilot teaching: Through an alliance with the Oxford Brooks School of Health, CGH has piloted teaching with trainees in a range of allied health professions and is exploring opportunities for an inter-professional learning module.
The Sustainable Action Planning (SAP) programme supports clinical teams in leading bottom up change for sustainability. The programme has been piloted in wards and GP surgeries in Cornwall in 2008. Case studies, guidance and resources are available free online from sap.greenerhealthcare.org. Training in SAP facilitation is being offered through the Royal College of Nursing. CGH is now seeking funding to pilot SAP as an integrated programme across a hospital or Trust.
Research Opportunities
There are lots of areas for research in the field of environment and health, ranging from a simple local audit to PhD and beyond…
- Impact of the environment on human health (e.g. climate change, pollutants)
- Health co-benefits of environmental sustainability (e.g. active lifestyles)
- Environmental impact of healthcare (e.g. carbon footprint of a health centre or medical intervention)
- Sustainable healthcare design – what works?
We will be sharing ideas and contacts for research into environment and health as this site develops. We are keen to foster links between environmental science and medical departments in universities.