History of Climate Change

As an emergency physician, you will inevitably be involved in caring for patients affected by climate change. These will range from construction workers suffering from heatstroke to elders displaced by hurricanes who need to get back on their medication regimen and reestablish care. A career in emergency medicine (EM) focused on climate change will give you the tools to advocate for the needs of these patients and take steps to address the root causes of the problems they face from this global public health crisis.  

Most academic emergency physicians who focus on climate change choose a combination of advocacy, organizing, writing, and research. Some focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the healthcare industry or advocating for broader reductions; others focus on understanding and adapting to new hazards that will result from climate change, either for the wellbeing of patients in the community or for the functioning of health care systems.  

The primary challenges facing a physician who wishes to focus on climate change are relatively sparse research funding, variable acknowledgement of this as a key focus area within the house of medicine, and the enormous scope of the problem. These challenges are also, however, opportunities. As a relatively new focus area, there are countless unaddressed research projects ready for your attention. You have the potential to become a leader early in your career. If the climate models continue as projected, your services will be more and more in demand over the course of your career.  

Effective mentorship is essential at every level of training if you plan to develop an EM career focused on climate  change. You should seek out a mentor who is well connected to other people in the field and can help you navigate a highly cross disciplinary academic landscape. An ideal mentor will be able to guide you through public health aspects of climate change, governance and policy issues, and key research questions in both adaptation and mitigation, and connect you with experts who are focusing on these topics.