Medical schools pushed to teach climate change
Medical schools are facing pressure from doctors, industry organizations and students to add climate change to the curriculum, The Wall Street Journal reported.
That’s because climate change poses high health risks that future healthcare workers need to know. Rising global temperatures exacerbate extreme weather events, more air pollution can cause health problems and hot weather has numerous effects, from heat stroke to death.
With support from the American Medical Association, the movement to teach climate change is gaining steam. For one, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign offers a diagnosis exercise about asthma related to wildfires, and the Mayo Clinic is in talks to introduce the topic, as well, according to the WSJ.
But there is still an uphill battle to make the topic a mainstream part of medical education.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."