67 Integrating Planetary Health into the Medicine Curriculum

Dr Ross Brannigan described RCSI’s systematic integration of sustainable development and planetary health across its restructured medical curriculum. Moving from a traditional modular model to a spiralled, systems-based curriculum enables recurring engagement with sustainability concepts throughout all taught years. Early teaching highlights the healthcare sector’s responsibility for 4–7% of global greenhouse gas emissions and situates climate change as an urgent health threat. Students examine national and international responses, including the HSE Climate Action Plan, and learn how greener models of care align with public health goals.

Two main challenge-based learning opportunities embed sustainability in authentic contexts. First, a Student Selected Module introduces planetary health concepts, sustainable care pathways, barriers and facilitators to green healthcare, and stakeholder analysis. Students work in groups to propose practical, evidence-informed interventions on topics such as inhaler impact, staff travel, and single-use gowns, presenting strategies that balance patient safety with environmental benefit. This module reaches approximately 15–20% of each incoming cohort.

Secondly, all second-year students complete a Sustainable Quality Improvement (QI) project focused on reducing the environmental impacts of a chosen area of clinical practice while maintaining or enhancing care quality. Students explore trade-offs between access, equity, environmental cost, and patient outcomes, producing innovative proposals ranging from reducing food waste to trialling alternative surgical scrubbing methods. This work aims to cultivate advocacy, systems thinking, and leadership — competencies highlighted as essential for achieving carbon-neutral healthcare.

Alongside curricular integration, RCSI’s involvement in national initiatives such as the CHIME network and its strong performance in the Planetary Health Report Card demonstrate institutional commitment. Dr Brannigan emphasised that today’s medical students are increasingly climate-aware and eager to contribute to change, and that integrating sustainability across didactic, project-based, and clinical learning is key to preparing them as future leaders in sustainable healthcare.

About the author

name: Dr Ross Brannigan

institution: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Dr Ross Brannigan is a Lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology in the School of Population Health at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.