Sustainable Healthcare

This CPD course will equip you with a comprehensive understanding of sustainable healthcare. By the end of the course participants will be better able to:

• Define the concept of planetary health, and demonstrate a basic appreciation of the key scientific and international institutions involved, including the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Conference of the Parties (COP), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Lancet Countdown.

• Describe the impact of the health sector on climate change and planetary health, and of planetary health on health system provision; and identify the main hot spots where significant carbon reduction is required.

• Explain the importance of national level policy in enabling health systems to reach net zero.

• Apply the principles of sustainable clinical practice to a healthcare problem and carry out a basic carbon footprint calculation on a discrete piece of health service activity.

• Discuss the role of leadership and advocacy in relation to sustainable healthcare.

• Week 1: Delve into the course introduction, planetary health's influence on population well-being, distinguishing between mitigation and adaptation, assessing the healthcare professional's role, reflecting on personal and professional impacts of climate change, and identifying avenues for effecting change.

• Week 2: Explore sustainable healthcare principles, focus on sustainability in healthcare facilities and resource management, examine the co-benefits of health and climate, introduce social tipping dynamics, explore quality improvement tools, and identify sustainable practices in professional settings.

• Week 3: Study sustainable care pathways, from prevention to follow-up care. Discuss clinical leadership in sustainable healthcare, redesigning digital care pathways, healthcare supply chain and procurement, low-carbon care models, travel for care, and innovation in research. This week includes a case study on sustainable surgery and measuring the carbon footprint of a single health system activity. Emphasise prevention and patient empowerment in reducing health system emissions, understand care pathways comprehensively, and consider the social determinants of health. Students will define a project goal to enhance healthcare sustainability, outline the project's scope, settings, milestones, and identify key collaborators.

• Week 4: Examine barriers, facilitators, and decision-making in healthcare. This module compares structural versus lifestyle approaches to health behaviour change, discussing the impacts of national policy and health equity issues. Students will identify common barriers and facilitators to sustainable healthcare and learn to assess the costs and benefits from a health economics perspective.

• Week 5: Develop a comprehensive project plan for a sustainable healthcare practice tailored to your professional context. This will include defining goals, identifying co-benefits, selecting appropriate tools, outlining required resources, and determining key stakeholders for collaboration.

We understand that online learning might be a new experience for some, so our virtual learning environment (VLE) is designed to be intuitive, accessible, and easy to navigate. At the start of the course, we will provide you with orientation videos to familiarise you with the platform and course format. Additionally, support will be available from the course's programme coordinator throughout your learning journey should you need extra assistance.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will receive a personalised, digital RCSI Completion Certificate. Achieving this certificate and earning continuous professional development (CPD) points involves passing multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and participating in reflective exercises, including the completion of a personal action plan. These components are designed to be flexible, allowing you to progress at your own pace while ensuring a comprehensive learning experience.

Although this course does not carry credits as per the European Credit Transfer System, it upholds rigorous quality assurance standards to provide an excellent educational experience. The course has been approved by the RCSI Professional Development and Practice Committee and is accredited for CPD points in line with the Irish Medical Council guidelines.

Participants seeking recognition in other jurisdictions should verify the applicability of these CPD points as per their local requirements. Additionally, participants taking this course as part of other educational programmes, such as undergraduate or postgraduate studies, should check with their institutions for academic recognition.