Vision and Objectives for the Sustainable Healthcare Education network

SHE began in the UK in 2009 as a collaboration between the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH)[1]and educators and students at a number of UK medical schools. CSH has continued to support SHE since that time, and in 2018 has formally adopted SHE as a CSH programme. As part of this process, the following mission statement has been developed by the core group, including a set of Objectives which will be developed into a five year plan with the help of a newly appointed Steering Committee.

Vision

“All students in health professional degrees are able to explain the relevance of planetary health to human health and healthcare and apply skills for improving the sustainability of healthcare. This knowledge informs the behaviours and activities of health professionals, who promote health by incorporating environmental sustainability in their workplaces and professional roles.”

Mission

To provide guidance, resources and support in collaboration with and to support health professional educators, such that they can develop and deliver sustainable healthcare education (see Appendix).

To support healthcare schools and medical schools to identify how sustainable healthcare education can be incorporated into curricula to improve the professional capacities of their graduates. 

To accelerate integration of sustainable healthcare into health professional education by influencing national requirements and by monitoring and highlighting progress nationally/internationally.

Scope

SHE is a UK-based network which provides guidance and resources for the development of sustainable healthcare education at undergraduate and postgraduate level within the medical profession, and collaborates with similar initiatives within nursing and the allied health professions, and in health professional education internationally.

Programme objectives

1. To expand and support a network of educators and students from health profession schools across the UK, working to embed planetary health and sustainability within health professional education. 
2. To facilitate the sharing of educational materials for sustainable healthcare education.
3. To influence national curriculum requirements and guidance for health professional education in the UK.
4. To promote the inclusion of planetary health and sustainable healthcare within the curricula of medical and health profession schools in the UK.
5. To form partnerships with health education organisations and institutions to increase SHE’s impact.

Abbreviation and definition

SHE – Sustainable Healthcare Education network

Sustainable healthcare education – Teaching and learning which prepares future health professionals to promote sustainable health and deliver sustainable healthcare. 

Appendix. Priority Sustainable Healthcare Learning Outcomes which are referenced in the General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates^[2].

1. Describe how the environment and human health interact at different levels.
2. Demonstrate the knowledge and skills needed to improve the environmental sustainability of health systems.
3. Discuss how the duty of a doctor to protect and promote health is shaped by the dependence of human health on the local and global environment.

Each of these three learning objectives is followed by subsidiary objectives. To access the full set of learning objectives, go to http://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/priority-learning-outcomes