Fulfilling a new obligation: Teaching and learning of sustainable healthcare in the medical education curriculum.

Aims: Leading the growing international recognition of the need for sustainability in healthcare delivery, the UK medical regulator has mandated that newly qualified doctors must be able to apply the principles of sustainable healthcare to medical practice. This original research investigates how best to incorporate this new learning into the medical curriculum.
Methods: Data from multiple sources were triangulated to generate themes through grounded theory. Meetings were held with representatives of key stakeholder organizations, relevant documents were reviewed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with diverse medical educators who teach sustainable healthcare.
Results: There is continual pressure on space in the curriculum, and faculty lack the knowledge to teach this emerging subject, which is also difficult to examine. Students increasingly demand that sustainability be addressed in their education and future careers. Many sources of support and learning resources are available. Conclusions: Practical recommendations for implementation in any medical school include: teaching sustainability as a cross-cutting theme rather than a topic, clinicians and students learning from each other in this developing field, and embedding into assessment the wider determinants of disease. Sustainable healthcare emphasizes prevention rather than late intervention, with benefits to the environment on which health depends, healthcare systems and patients.