Following a two-stage national consultation, priority learning outcomes have been agreed for the inclusion of environmental sustainability in medical education.
Three priority learning outcomes for environmental sustainability in medical education have been developed in response to a request from the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2011. The learning outcomes have been refined through a two-stage national consultation in 2012-13, involving medical educators, clinicians and students, and are supplemented by "expanded" learning outcomes - intended to lilustrate detailed knowledge and skills which may be helpful to educators wishing to implement them.
Whilst broadly following the structure of the GMC’s Tomorrow’s Doctors (standards for undergraduate education), the outcomes provide a template for both undergraduate and postgraduate training.
Although sustainability requires some new curricular material, it is primarily a perspective through which to approach existing topics, such as health inequalities and medical leadership. The learning outcomes have been designed to promote critical thinking, and development of the skills necessary to respond to change and uncertainty. However, the SHE Network curriculum working group is currently working on guidance for implementation and assessment, which will include many applied, clinically relevant examples.
We hope that the document, and the guidance which will follow it, prove useful in teaching and future work on curriculum development. Additionally, we would be very interested to hear about any experiences during the implementation of these the outcomes, including innovations in teaching and feedback from students or trainees, in order to inform such efforts at other institutions. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions, or would like to discuss how to take this work forward in your local context.
The SHE Network Curriculum Working Group
Access the learning outcomes online:
or download as a word document here.
Please log in or sign up to comment.