The purpose of this Consensus Statement is to provide a global, collaborative, representative and inclusive vision for educating an interprofessional healthcare workforce that can deliver sustainable healthcare and promote planetary health. It is intended to inform national and global accreditation standards, planning and action at the institutional level as well as highlight the role of individuals in transforming health professions education. Many countries have agreed to 'rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% within 10 years and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, including in healthcare. Currently, however, health professions graduates are not prepared for their roles in achieving these changes. Thus, to reduce emissions and meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), health professions education must equip undergraduates, and those already qualified, with the knowledge, skills, values, competence and confidence they need to sustainably promote the health, human rights and well-being of current and future generations, while protecting the health of the planet. The current imperative for action on environmental issues such as climate change requires health professionals to mobilize politically as they have before, becoming strong advocates for major environmental, social and economic change. A truly ethical relationship with people and the planet that we inhabit so precariously, and to guarantee a future for the generations which follow, demands nothing less of all health professionals. This Consensus Statement outlines the changes required in health professions education, approaches to achieve these changes and a timeline for action linked to the internationally agreed SDGs. It represents the collective vision of health professionals, educators and students from various health professions, geographic locations and cultures. 'Consensus' implies broad agreement amongst all individuals engaged in discussion on a specific issue, which in this instance, is agreement by all signatories of this Statement developed under the auspices of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). To ensure a shared understanding and to accurately convey information, we outline key terms in a glossary which accompanies this Consensus Statement (Supplementary Appendix 1). We acknowledge, however, that terms evolve and that different terms resonate variably depending on factors such as setting and audience. We define education for sustainable healthcare as the process of equipping current and

Climate change and the declining state of the planet’s ecosystems, due mainly to a global resource-driven economy and the consumptive lifestyles of the wealthy, are impacting the health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants. Although ‘planetary health’ was coined in 1980, it was only in the early 2000s that a call came for a paradigm shift in medical education to include the impact of ecosystem destabilization and the increasing prevalence of vector-borne diseases. The medical education response was, however, slow, with the sustainable healthcare and climate change educational agenda driven by passionate academics and clinicians. In response, from about 2016, medical students have taken action, developing much-needed learning outcomes, resources, policies, frameworks, and an institutional audit tool. While the initial medical education focus was climate change and sustainable healthcare, more recently, with wider collaboration and engagement (Indigenous voices, students, other health professions, community), there is now planetary health momentum. This chronological account of the evolution of planetary health in medical education draws on the extant literature and our (an academic, students, and recent graduates) personal experiences and interactions. Advancing this urgent educational agenda, however, requires universities to support inclusive transdisciplinary collaboration among academics, students and communities, many of whom are already champions and eco-ethical leaders, to ensure a just and sustainable future for all of Earth’s inhabitants.

No abstract

No abstract