A group of physicians and health experts is calling for Western Canada’s first new medical school in more than half a century to incorporate a model of medicine based on “planetary health.”
Studies have shown only between 10 and 20 per cent of a patient’s health is determined by access to a doctor, says Card, who lives in Victoria. The other 80 per cent, he says, depends on the environment a person lives in and the human relationships they are exposed to. “There are nine broad areas that could just take out humans,” said Bruce Lanphear, a public health physician and professor in SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
“We get all caught up on genetics, but what is really driving diseases and death today is environmental triggers,” he said. Planetary health also overlaps with what can seem mundane but often end up as profoundly dangerous human social situations. Social isolation, for example, is a leading risk factor for seniors. If an older person is trapped in an overheated apartment or falls down the stairs without anyone around to help them, the results can be fatal, Card said, pointing to hundreds of deaths during the late June 2021 heat dome that scorched British Columbia.
That science, along with Lem’s experience during the 2021 heat wave, helped push the doctor to launch PaRx, A Prescription for Nature. It offers practical resources for health-care providers to prescribe nature for a minimum of 20-minute sessions, adding up to at least two hours a week. Institutionalizing a new approach to medicine The latest call to incorporate planetary health into doctors’ education seeks to institutionalize past efforts.
The chances new doctors will see multiple patients with breathing problems from wildfire smoke are only increasing. But some might not realize that almost 8,000 Canadians die premature deaths every year because of polluted skies.
New BC doctors should be trained to stay.
Does it matter what they are trained in if they leave to practice else where?
Let's start with science-based nutrition first.
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »
Source: ottawasuncom - 🏆 4. / 92 Read more »
Source: OttawaCitizen - 🏆 21. / 68 Read more »