The medical competency training “climate-sensitive health counseling” – an interdisciplinary approach in planetary health education

Objective: This article presents the Medical Competency Training (MCT) in Climate-Sensitive Health Counseling (CSHC) of the medical faculty Augsburg. The development and implementation process is described and reflected upon. In integrating Planetary Health Education into the medical curriculum at the University of Augsburg, an attempt was made to address its complex requirements through collaboration among various university institutes. Project description: semester of the curriculum. The development process incorporated the chapter "planetary and global health" from the National Competency-Based Learning Objectives Catalog for Medicine, as well as criteria for high-quality planetary health education. The MCT CSHC imparts knowledge about environmental changes and their health consequences. It also fosters communication skills and an ethically reflected attitude. Results: The MCT CSHC was implemented from 2023 onwards. All characteristics of high-quality planetary health education, were incorporated into the MCT, with particular emphasis on developing transformative competencies, such as the ability to communicate in a climate-sensitive manner. The teaching materials were made publicly available. The MCT CSHC was further developed based on student and instructor feedback. Conclusion: The challenge of implementing a planetary health teaching format was met through the development and curricular integration of the MCT CSHC. Crucial to this success was the inclusion of three distinct institute perspectives on the scientific and practical topics arising within CSHC. A course evaluation to assess the learning objectives is planned.