Empowering Educators for Global Health: Embedding Sustainability in Medical Education
Katie BROWN
Climate change and environmental degradation pose escalating threats to global health, making sustainability a critical component of medical education. The XXX require new doctors to understand the health-related effects of climate change and promote sustainable healthcare practices. Despite this mandate, many medical educators lack the confidence and knowledge to teach sustainability effectively. Embedding sustainability in the curriculum is essential to prepare future doctors for complex health challenges and to meet the XXX commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions.This research explored medical educators’ knowledge and attitudes toward sustainable healthcare and developed a faculty development programme to support curriculum integration. The programme aimed to equip educators with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to confidently teach sustainability concepts. It incorporated interactive workshops, case-based discussions, and resource toolkits tailored to enhance confidence in integrating sustainability into clinical teaching. Key areas included understanding sustainable healthcare systems, mapping patient journeys through a sustainability lens, and fostering problem-solving skills for complex health challenges. Evaluation was conducted through participant feedback and thematic analysis of responses.While sustainability education is increasingly recognized as essential, most initiatives focus on student learning rather than faculty development. This programme is innovative in addressing the educator knowledge and confidence gap as a prerequisite for successful curriculum integration. Literature review revealed limited evidence on similar faculty-focused interventions, highlighting the novelty of this approach.Evaluation demonstrated significant improvements in educators’ understanding of sustainable healthcare principles and their confidence in teaching sustainability. Participants valued practical applications such as healthcare systems and patient journey case studies, and interdisciplinary collaboration enriched perspectives on sustainable healthcare delivery.Future work should focus on scaling faculty development initiatives, fostering resource-sharing across institutions, and embedding sustainability as a cross-cutting theme within spiral curricula.Faculty development is essential for embedding sustainable healthcare education within medical curricula, aligning with XXX guidance and XXX sustainability goals. Empowering educators with knowledge and practical tools enhances the relevance of sustainability teaching and prepares future doctors to become adaptive, environmentally conscious leaders in healthcare.
