Aylin Turker

The connection between human health and climate change is at times overlooked, but not by the student group UBC Medical Students for Climate Action. Montana Blum, Lise Van Amerom, Keiko Patterson, and Sarah Poteryko are four students who first joined together for a study project and saw a lack in their curriculum addressing the way that the world is changing: climate change. They thus established their own club, where they have been actively addressing the issue and effectively incorporating climate change into their medical curriculum via a variety of educational modules. These modules not only emphasize the often overlooked need to adapt all spheres of life to the effects of climate change, but they also illuminate a more general reality: a multifaceted and interdisciplinary approach is needed to effectively adapt to climate change. 

These students, who all have diverse backgrounds and experiences, approached the creation of their modules—which focus on population health, health threats, impacts on health, sustainable healthcare, and connecting with nature—from various perspectives. These classes cover a wide range of topics, from the consequences of forest mitigation on mental health to the effect of air pollution on respiratory diseases. In conclusion, it fundamentally calls for a shift in the method by which healthcare professionals approach patient care. They are asking them to consider things that they haven’t had to consider before when providing care for patients, such as asking if the patient has ever been exposed to asbestos, chemicals, or wildfires. 

Climate change exacerbates previously existing problems. Therefore, additional fields, like urban planning to adjust to the risk of changing weather conditions or agriculture to contend with altered environmental structures, should follow the medical field in reevaluating their approach and currentness. As a result, as these students illustrated, the traditional discussions of climate change are no longer limited to environmental science or policy domains because it is evident that the issue is fundamentally a social one that affects health in addition to the environment. This goes beyond merely improving the medical curriculum. It is actively adapting to a reality that is changing rapidly. This project is an appeal to individuals, corporate leaders, legislators, and educators to recognize and confront the widespread effects of climate change in every aspect of society.

If you would like to get more in-depth information about the project, here is a link to their interview: https://sustain.ubc.ca/stories/ubc-medical-students-write-climate-change-curriculum-0

UBC Medical Students for Climate Action: https://www.ubcmedicalstudentsforclimateaction.com/