Fulfilling a new obligation: Teaching and learning of sustainable healthcare in the medical education curriculum

Figures & data

Table 1. Methods used to meet research objectives.

Research objective	Methods used
Identify current practice and progress	Literature review
Relate this to the new mandate	Document analysis
	Meeting with Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
Contextualize in practical applications	Meeting with NHS sustainability manager
	Meeting with Sustainable Development Unit
Contextualize in higher education	Attendance at EAUC conference
	Meeting with Academic Sustainability Director
Investigate educators’ experience
Assess what worked or not	Semi-structured interviews
Success in engaging students
Identify key barriers and enablers	Semi-structured interviews
	Analysis of the interviews, meetings, conference, and the literature
Consider best approaches	Evaluation of different options
Make recommendations	Conclusions grounded in the findings

Figure 1. Annotated copy of Outcomes for graduates 2018 section 25. Highlighting denotes the additions and differences since the 2015 version. Reproduced from Outcomes for graduates 2018 © 2018 General Medical Council.

Table 2. Key barriers, enablers, and drivers for implementing sustainable healthcare education.

Barriers to implementing sustainable healthcare education	Enablers and drivers for implementing sustainable healthcare education
Lack of knowledgeable teachers of sustainable healthcare	Demand from students
Lack of space in the curriculum	The move in higher education to include sustainability
Uncertainty of location in the curriculum	A new legitimacy through GMC mandate
Need for learning resources	Leadership from other stakeholders
Difficulty in assessing learning	Sources of support and resources
Emotional impact needing resilience

Figure 2. Teaching and learning sustainable healthcare: Barriers (red), Enablers (light blue), Solutions (yellow highlight), and Benefits (black).