The Medical Education Planetary Health Journey: Advancing the Agenda in the Health Professions Requires Eco-Ethical Leadership and Inclusive Collaboration

Michelle McLean (), Georgia Behrens, Hannah Chase, Omnia El Omrani, Finola Hackett, Karly Hampshire, Nuzhat Islam, Sarah Hsu and Natasha Sood
Additional contact information
Michelle McLean: Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD 4226, Australia
Georgia Behrens: MSc Public Health Candidate, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Hannah Chase: Oxford University Hospital Trust, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
Omnia El Omrani: Ain Shams University Hospital, Cairo 4393002, Egypt
Finola Hackett: Alberta Health Services, 110 Columbia Blvd—Westview Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6X4, Canada
Karly Hampshire: San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Nuzhat Islam: Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego Health, 200 W Arbor Dr # MC8425, San Diego, CA 92103-1911, USA
Sarah Hsu: Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Natasha Sood: Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Cres Rd, Hershey, PA 17033, USA

Challenges, 2022, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Climate change and the declining state of the planet’s ecosystems, due mainly to a global resource-driven economy and the consumptive lifestyles of the wealthy, are impacting the health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants. Although ‘planetary health’ was coined in 1980, it was only in the early 2000s that a call came for a paradigm shift in medical education to include the impact of ecosystem destabilization and the increasing prevalence of vector-borne diseases. The medical education response was, however, slow, with the sustainable healthcare and climate change educational agenda driven by passionate academics and clinicians. In response, from about 2016, medical students have taken action, developing much-needed learning outcomes, resources, policies, frameworks, and an institutional audit tool. While the initial medical education focus was climate change and sustainable healthcare, more recently, with wider collaboration and engagement (Indigenous voices, students, other health professions, community), there is now planetary health momentum. This chronological account of the evolution of planetary health in medical education draws on the extant literature and our (an academic, students, and recent graduates) personal experiences and interactions. Advancing this urgent educational agenda, however, requires universities to support inclusive transdisciplinary collaboration among academics, students and communities, many of whom are already champions and eco-ethical leaders, to ensure a just and sustainable future for all of Earth’s inhabitants.

Keywords: biodiversity loss; climate change; eco-ethical leadership; health professions education; medical education; planetary health; sustainable healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A00 C00 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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