INTEGRATING PLANETARY HEALTH INTO THE MEDICAL CURRICULUM.

Planetary health is a field that looks at human-caused disruptions to the environment and the effect that these disruptions have on human health. We are living in a world where experts have declared a 'code red' for both the planet and human health - hence, planetary health is an area of increasing and urgent importance. Health professionals of all levels need to be aware of the relationship between climate change and health. Education on this should begin at the medical student level, ideally building on first and second level education for all. Medical students around the world have been calling for teaching in this area, and in many cases are leading the movement. Globally, there is a shift amongst third level educators to provide education on planetary health. In their 2018 Outcomes for Graduates, the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom (UK) introduced a new learning outcome on sustainable healthcare, which has served as leverage for educators in the UK to implement new planetary health teaching. Current teaching on planetary health at the university level in Ireland is inconsistent and inadequate. There are no defined learning outcomes for medical students in Ireland as seen in the UK. In the absence of same, groups such as Irish Doctors for the Environment and the Climate and Health in Medical Education (CHIME) network have been making efforts to develop a framework for planetary health teaching which could be implemented at both a national and international level. This article will discuss the work of these groups so far. It will outline how we can overcome some of the barriers and facilitators to integration, and will also provide examples of learning outcomes that can be incorporated easily into current curricula without requiring significant change. A changing climate requires a changing curriculum, and educators must build on the global momentum with the urgency that this crisis requires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]