Climate change is the greatest health threat of the 21st century, yet medical education has been slow to prepare future physicians for its wide-ranging impacts on health systems and patient care. In this session, we spotlight the power of student-led innovation in advancing climate and health education through two globally recognized initiatives: the Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC) and Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE). Both began as grassroots projects by medical students who identified gaps in their training and took action to fill them. PHRC now benchmarks health professional schools internationally on planetary health curriculum, research, and operations, while CRHE has developed a growing library of open-access teaching materials to equip faculty with ready-to-use climate and health resources.Through a panel discussion with the co-founders of PHRC and CRHE, participants hear first-hand stories of how these initiatives were built, scaled, and sustained as international collaborations. Panelists reflect on their “aha” moments, early challenges, and lessons learned in fostering inter-institutional collaboration, leveraging mentorship, and bridging the gap between education and clinical practice. As both panelists now train as residents, they also share how their perspectives on climate and health education have evolved with greater exposure to patient care and health systems.This session equips educators, learners, and leaders with practical insights on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, leveraging collaboration, and supporting the next generation of change agents in climate and health education.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe how trainee-led initiatives have advanced climate and health integration in medical education worldwide.
- Identify strategies for fostering collaboration, mentorship, and sustainability in grassroots educational innovations.
- Apply lessons from student innovators to support the development of new climate and health education efforts at their own institutions.
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