Literature

Curbside Consults Podcast

By Leslie Chang, MD

Published June 15, 2022

In this episode of Curbside Consults, we discuss the intersection of climate change, health, and education with a group of residents and medical students who are leading initiatives to incorporate climate change into the curriculum at institutions across the country. We are joined by Dr. Jacob Fox, second year internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, Karly Hampshire, fourth year medical student at UCSF, and Dr. Thomas Kuczmarski, third year internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Tune in to hear how they have worked with local and national organizations to implement curricular initiatives on climate change and health and how you can get involved in similar efforts.

0:00 – Introduction
1:17 – Personal perspectives and primer on climate change and health
4:58 – Initiatives in integrating climate change and health in residency curriculum and education
10:45 – Resources for collaboration across institutions
13:07 – Curricular initiatives in medical school space
15:31 – National collaboration in developing a new curricular resource through GCCHE
24:33 – Barriers to introducing curricular changes in medical school and residency
30:55 – Final words of advice

Articles and resources discussed in this episode: 

1. Health Care Without Harm
2. Medical Students for a Sustainable Future
3. Planetary Health Report Card Initiative
4. Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
5. Physicians for Social Responsibility
6. Solomon CG and LaRocque RC. Climate Change – A Health Emergency. N Engl J Med 2019.
7. Salas RN and Solomon CG. The Climate Crisis – Health and Care Delivery. N Engl J Med 2019.

The Curbside Consults series complements the foundational information in Rotation Prep by taking a deep dive into key clinical topics with expert clinicians and educators. These podcasts explore and critique the evidence behind clinical practice and break down statistical concepts for the busy clinical trainee.

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Jake Fox, MD, MPH, is an internal medicine resident in Boston and is pursuing a career as an intensivist. In addition to his advocacy and education work on the climate crisis, his other interests include chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu), risk communication, national health policy, and physician activism.
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Karly Hampshire, is a fourth year medical student at the University of California San Francisco applying into internal medicine. She is the Founder and Co-Director of the Planetary Health Report Card Initiative.
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Thomas Kuczmarski, MD, is an internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. He is interested in hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplant and is an incoming hematology/oncology fellow at University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. At Brigham, he created the Climate Change Action Committee, a residency-run group focused on hospital sustainability, physician advocacy, and incorporating more climate-related content into residency education.
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Leslie Chang, MD, is a 2021-2022 NEJM Editorial Fellow and a hospitalist at Massachusetts General Hospital. She graduated from Duke University School of Medicine in 2018 and completed her internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2021.

Research summaries covering topics relevant to residents and trainees.