New UMass Chan clerkship connects environmental justice and patient care
by Pat Sargent
Five third-year medical students from the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School spent two weeks learning and reflecting on the impact of environmental justice on their education, research and future careers.
The inaugural Community, Climate and Care: Environmental Justice in Action population and community health clerkship is a collaboration between the Office of Sustainability and the Lamar Soutter Library at UMass Chan.
“Each of the clerkship students came with their own reasons for why environmental justice already mattered to them, whether they had experienced climate change or equity issues personally or involving their families, or through their volunteer experiences with vulnerable populations,” said Kortni Wroten, sustainability and energy manager. “It was great to have students that were able to bring that passion and open mindedness to learn.”
Medical student Milan Rosen said the two-week program provided him with a comprehensive understanding of how the environment impacts social determinants of health, including transportation, housing and food access, in Worcester and how he and other future medical professionals can help improve these issues.
“The clerkship gave me a better understanding of how we can impact the environment, how the environment uniquely impacts different populations and how we can focus on primary prevention and secondary prevention to limit the disease process before we even see patients,” Rosen said.
Medical student John “Jack” Albanese said he would encourage other students to participate in the clerkship, emphasizing the importance of environmental justice in all forms of medicine and personal health.
“Even if it's not directly affiliated with my practice, being part of the environmental initiatives happening around me is something I’m going to be interested in when I start my career,” Albanese said. “The environment is going to affect you and your career, no matter what form of medicine you're practicing, so it’s a benefit to everyone to get informed about the environmental issues we face and how we can address them.”
The other students in the program included Zoe Chen, Sharon Subramanian and Stanley Wojtas.
“In addition to introducing these students to all these environmental health impacts in their third year before they start their clinical rotations, we also gave them opportunities to learn about how environmental justice impacts policy change at the state and national level,” said Sarah Hutton, PhD, MLIS, education and clinical services librarian.
The clerkship was held from April 6 to 17, aligned with Earth Month events and activities on campus and the introduction of the Office of Sustainability’s new motto, “Together for a Healthy Planet.”
“This clerkship ties tightly into the kind of stewardship and engagement we want our department to focus on and the collaborative efforts that drive collective change and direction towards sustainability,” said Suzanne Wood, director of sustainability and campus services.
The clerkship students attended workshops and guest lectures, and participated in several field trips, webinars and networking events, including a visit to the Worcester Regional Transit Authority hub to discuss the environmental impact of transportation, spending time at the UMass Chan Wellness Farm, touring the Casella recycling facility in Auburn, and meeting with Hillary Irons, MD, PhD, associate professor of emergency medicine at UMass Chan and emergency physician for UMass Memorial Health, to discuss the findings from a recent emergency department waste audit.