May 8, 2023 - Floods and severe storms are harmful to our health. Extreme weather is becoming more common with climate change, and is demanding and costly to individuals, communities and health systems. This ...
Health Professional Education Resources
Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), has developed a variety of free interdisciplinary clinical education resources which you will find listed below. They can be used to update health professional curricula to incorporate important education about climate health and sustainable practice.
We have started integrating these resources into medical schools, teaching hospitals and speciality colleges across Australia. Please contact admin@dea.org.au if you would like to get involved, or would like more information.
Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), has successfully advocated for, and assisted in, the integration of climate health risks and sustainability into medical education curricula and healthcare standards across the country, including the AMC National Framework for Prevocational Medical Training, AMC Primary Medical School Standards, the NSQHS Sustainable Healthcare Module, and the Victorian Public Hospital Enterprise Agreement.
It is imperative that the medical workforce understand, address, and can respond to the health effects of climate change, which has been declared the single biggest health threat facing humanity in the 21st century. Many Australian medical colleges have recognised they have a duty to be part of the solutions, and to prepare their members for responding to these impacts.
DEA Curriculum Mapping Resource & Slide Deck
Easy-to-use tools for medical educators to locate clinically relevant teaching points in each major body system. These resources can be used to support new medical school and teaching hospital medical education standards. Specifically Domain 3.3 of the Standards for Assessment and Accreditation of Primary Medical Programs, Domain 2 & Domain 3 of the AMC National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2) Medical Training.
Principles of Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare
Click here to download the slide deck for clinical educators to promote the principles of environmentally sustainable healthcare.
These resources can be used to support new medical school and teaching hospital medical education standards. Specifically Domain 1.15 and Domain 3.10 of the Standards for Assessment and Accreditation of Primary Medical Programs and Outcome Statement 1.5, Domain 2, and EPA 2 (Prescribing) of the AMC National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2) Medical Training.
GreenCollege Guidelines: Reducing the environmental impact of your medical colleges, specialty, society, council and association
Practical and affordable ideas to make eco-friendly organisational improvements.
Sustainable Conference Guide
This guide offers a handy checklist to make your next event more sustainable.
Greening Your Health Organisation
The carbon footprint of Australia’s healthcare sector is estimated at over 7% of Australia’s total emissions. While every sector needs to play its part to limit global warming and environmental degradation, the healthcare sector has an added responsibility (and opportunity) to lead mitigation of emissions and environmental impacts.
DEA After Hours Webinars
The After Hours is a webinar series all about climate change and human health. Each month, we’ll bring you a new session that will focus on one specific aspect of the relationship between climate change and human health—and what health professionals can be doing about it.
DEA Podcasts
Hosts Dr. Karin English and Dr. Kaiya Ferguson discuss latest DEA news & topical environment and health issues
Upcoming: Grand Rounds Package
Please reach out (admin@dea.org.au) if you are interested in helping us pilot this resource.
Upcoming: Actions for Sustainability in Your Hospital Toolkit
Please reach out (admin@dea.org.au) if you are interested in helping us pilot this resource.
Specific DEA resources
National and International Medical Education Partnerships
We are proud to be a signatory of the The Academic Health Institutions’ Declaration on Planetary Health declaring the health of the planet a Code Red emergency and call for immediate implementation of planetary health education and research, and the transition to climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems in order to build a healthy, sustainable, and just future for all.
Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
As a partner of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, please click here for links to educational content, resources, and information on a wide variety of climate and health topics for members and health professions schools/programs to enhance their development of locally tailored climate-health educational opportunities.
Planetary Health Report Card
DEA students are leading the Australian medical schools’ contribution to the planetary health report cards (PHRCs), a global, student-led tool for evaluating and improving planetary health curriculum content. DEA’s advocacy role and resources are promoted by the PHRC team and links to other resources can be found here
NSW Health Climate Risk and Net Zero
NSW Health is establishing a climate risk and net zero program, to coordinate and scale-up action across NSW Health. This website contains practical information and resources to support staff in the transition to a modern, low carbon health system.
Featured Presentations and Factsheets:
Surgeons first to sign up to new green guidelines
November 18, 2022 - The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has become the first medical college in Australia to sign up to the newly released Green College Guidelines. The guidelines, which have been ...
Fact Sheet: Asthma and Indoor Gas Appliances
October 13, 2022 - Asthma has many triggers, and these vary from person to person: respiratory virus infection, dust mites, mould, and indoor air pollution. One exposure that is often overlooked is the nitrogen ...
Joint DEA & AMA webinar: Climate change and sustainability: leadership and action from Australian doctors
August 9, 2022 - Co-hosted by Doctors for the Environment Australia and the Australian Medical Association, this webinar once again brought together medical professionals and Australia’s medical colleges to facilitate the sharing of information, ...
Educational Resource: Mapping Climate Change and Health into the Medical Curriculum
March 30, 2022 - Co-development of a ‘Planetary Health-Organ System Map’ for Graduate Medical Education It is imperative that educating the medical workforce to understand, address and mitigate the health effects of climate change ...