Targeting the gap of planetary health education in medical teaching: A student-led initiative develops the course "Klima-LIMETTE" on climate change and health using simulated patients.

BACKGROUND

Planetary health education highlights the growing impact of climate change on human health - an urgent and relevant issue for healthcare providers that remains inadequately addressed in medical education.

METHOD: A student-led initiative at the University of Münster, Germany, has developed the "Klima-LIMETTE" (Engl.: "Climate-LIMETTE"), a course that teaches the health implications of climate change. It builds on the established infrastructure "LIMETTE" (Lernzentrum für individualisiertes medizinisches Tätigkeitstraining, Engl.: Learning center for individual medical skills training), that uses medical scenarios with simulated patients. Scenarios were developed based on current research on the effects of climate change on health with a focus in Germany. An additional blended e-learning course was designed to convey the knowledge needed for the case simulations and to promote a comprehensive understanding of planetary health.

RESULTS

The "Klima-LIMETTE" was conducted twice as a pilot study with 32 students. The cases were evaluated to be realistic and relevant. Students ranked the "Klima-LIMETTE" as "good" or "very good" on a six-point Likert scale.

CONCLUSION

Health-relevant climate information can be presented practically and theoretically in medical education. This course acts as a best-practice example of Planetary Health Education in medical teaching through interdisciplinary cooperation. The course is now implemented in the curriculum and jointly organized by four complementary institutes within the University of Münster.