Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school
IntroductionAs medical schools continue to improve and refine their undergraduate curricula, they are also redefining the roadmap for preparing future generations of physicians. Climate change is a critical topic to integrate into medical education. This period of change for undergraduate medical ed...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1092359/full |
| _version_ | 1828066457011879936 |
|---|---|
| author | Lucy Greenwald Olivia Blanchard Colleen Hayden Perry Sheffield Perry Sheffield |
| author_facet | Lucy Greenwald Olivia Blanchard Colleen Hayden Perry Sheffield Perry Sheffield |
| author_sort | Lucy Greenwald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionAs medical schools continue to improve and refine their undergraduate curricula, they are also redefining the roadmap for preparing future generations of physicians. Climate change is a critical topic to integrate into medical education. This period of change for undergraduate medical education coincides with a surge in interest and design efforts for climate and health curricula in health professional education, but this nascent field has yet to be solidly institutionalized. To continue to grow the number of medical students who achieve competency in the effects of climate change on individual health and the health of the planet during their training, we must examine what has worked to date and continue to shift our approach as curricular changes are implemented for feasibility and relevancy.Objective and methodsIn the present study, we assessed the “climate and health” content at one northeastern U.S. medical school that is undergoing an overhaul of their entire curriculum to explore strategies to deliver more robust climate health education in the context of the educational redesign. We conducted 1) a retrospective review of the now four-year-old initiative to investigate the sustainability of the original content, and 2) semi-structured interviews with lecturers, course directors, and medical education coordinators involved in implementation, and with faculty tasked with developing the upcoming curricular redesign.Results and discussionOf the original implementation plan, the content was still present in nine of the 14 lectures. Themes determined from our conversations with involved faculty included the need for 1) a shared vision throughout the content arc, 2) further professional development for faculty, and 3) involvement of summative assessment for students and the content itself to ensure longevity. The interviews also highlighted the importance of developing climate-specific resources that fit within the school's new curricular priorities. This critical review can serve as a case study in curriculum to inform other schools undergoing similar changes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:30:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acee9cdcf488435390f8fb2b218ed456 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:30:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-acee9cdcf488435390f8fb2b218ed4562023-01-12T06:34:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-01-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.10923591092359Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical schoolLucy Greenwald0Olivia Blanchard1Colleen Hayden2Perry Sheffield3Perry Sheffield4Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesThe Leni and Peter W. May Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartments of Environmental Medicine, Public Health, and Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesIntroductionAs medical schools continue to improve and refine their undergraduate curricula, they are also redefining the roadmap for preparing future generations of physicians. Climate change is a critical topic to integrate into medical education. This period of change for undergraduate medical education coincides with a surge in interest and design efforts for climate and health curricula in health professional education, but this nascent field has yet to be solidly institutionalized. To continue to grow the number of medical students who achieve competency in the effects of climate change on individual health and the health of the planet during their training, we must examine what has worked to date and continue to shift our approach as curricular changes are implemented for feasibility and relevancy.Objective and methodsIn the present study, we assessed the “climate and health” content at one northeastern U.S. medical school that is undergoing an overhaul of their entire curriculum to explore strategies to deliver more robust climate health education in the context of the educational redesign. We conducted 1) a retrospective review of the now four-year-old initiative to investigate the sustainability of the original content, and 2) semi-structured interviews with lecturers, course directors, and medical education coordinators involved in implementation, and with faculty tasked with developing the upcoming curricular redesign.Results and discussionOf the original implementation plan, the content was still present in nine of the 14 lectures. Themes determined from our conversations with involved faculty included the need for 1) a shared vision throughout the content arc, 2) further professional development for faculty, and 3) involvement of summative assessment for students and the content itself to ensure longevity. The interviews also highlighted the importance of developing climate-specific resources that fit within the school's new curricular priorities. This critical review can serve as a case study in curriculum to inform other schools undergoing similar changes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1092359/fullclimate changecurriculumeducationmedicinecurricular redesign |
| spellingShingle | Lucy Greenwald Olivia Blanchard Colleen Hayden Perry Sheffield Perry Sheffield Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school Frontiers in Public Health climate change curriculum education medicine curricular redesign |
| title | Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school |
| title_full | Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school |
| title_fullStr | Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school |
| title_short | Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school |
| title_sort | climate and health education a critical review at one medical school |
| topic | climate change curriculum education medicine curricular redesign |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1092359/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lucygreenwald climateandhealtheducationacriticalreviewatonemedicalschool AT oliviablanchard climateandhealtheducationacriticalreviewatonemedicalschool AT colleenhayden climateandhealtheducationacriticalreviewatonemedicalschool AT perrysheffield climateandhealtheducationacriticalreviewatonemedicalschool AT perrysheffield climateandhealtheducationacriticalreviewatonemedicalschool |