Planetary Health Competencies

HEART has been working since its inception to incorporate learning of the crucial links between planetary health and human health into medical curricula at all Canadian medical schools. HEART has partnered with the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) to incorporate planetary health teaching into all Canadian medical schools’ curricula by the upcoming 2025 curricula refresh nation-wide.

1. Developed a standardized set of curricular competencies on Planetary Health

2. The Planetary Health Curricular Competencies (last updated in 2021) are available here. The development process for the competencies is outlined in the infographic below, with the competencies having been modeled after the MCC competencies all Canadian medical schools must teach in order to receive accreditation and the CanMEDS roles for physicians.

   

3. Conducted semi-annual national evaluations on the state of Planetary Health Curricula at Canadian Medical Schools

The executive summary of our eight recommendations from the 2021 national re-evaluation can be found here (full report here), and its associated commentary, published in the Canadian Medical Education Journal, can be found here.

The CFMS HEART: National Report on Planetary Health Education 2019 can be found here, and its associated commentary, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, can be found here.

The most recent curriculum evaluation, The 2023 National Update on Planetary Health in Canadian Medical Schools, is available at the following links in English and French.