W1A3
Wednesday 15 Jan 2025, 8.00am – 12noon
Venue: TBC
CULTIVATING HOLISTIC HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
1Poh-Sun Goh and 2Eilsabeth Schlegel
1Singapore and 2Bahamas
Workshop Description
This workshop is dedicated to empowering educators and healthcare professionals to develop holistic healthcare practitioners through innovative educational strategies and practical applications. To do so we will focus on the integration of traditional and alternative medical practices, emphasising preventive care and promoting environmental consciousness in medical practice. Participants will explore how to design curricula that reflect these values, assess their effectiveness, and engage in faculty development activities that promote these goals. Through interactive sessions and group discussions that include Social Sustainability to enhance the quality of life, improving well-being, and promoting equity within a population, participants will design actionable strategies to foster environments that facilitate connections and enable access to health. This highly interactive workshop will include short faculty presentations exploring background, key ideas, current and innovative curricular practices, assessment strategies and role of faculty development. Participants will leave with a comprehensive understanding on how to foster environments that facilitate connections, enable access, and enhance overall health, and be inspired to be ready to implement changes that lead to more sustainable and equitable healthcare practices.
Workshop Objective
At the end of the workshop participants will gain insights into how innovative curricular and assessment strategies, and faculty development methods can together forge a roadmap for implementing sustainable healthcare practices centered on patient needs. Attendees will leave equipped with a toolkit of actionable strategies to implement sustainable education that is ready to push change that improves standards of care, champions social justice, and focuses on long-term sustainability of the health systems we serve.
Who Should Attend
This workshop is designed for health professions educators, curriculum developers, clinical trainers, healthcare administrators and other stakeholders who are committed to advancing sustainable, holistic healthcare education. It is particularly designed for professionals looking to integrate innovative curricular and assessment strategies, engage in meaningful faculty development, and apply step-by-step strategies to foster a socially sustainable program. Attendees who are passionate about enhancing the well-being and equity of their communities through medical education will find this workshop valuable.
https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/cenmed/sites/apmec2025/program_details.html#W1A3
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Google Search
https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/october-2022/the-changing-face-of-medicine-shaping-an-adaptable-sustainable-future-for-patient-care/
Berry, L. L., Yadav, M. S., & Hole, M. K. (2024). Reclaiming Healthcare’s Healing Mission for a Sustainable Future. Journal of Service Research, 27(1), 6-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705231198024
Argus-Calvo, B., Clegg, D. J., Francis, M. D., Dwivedi, A. K., Carrola, P. A., & Leiner, M. (2024). A holistic approach to sustain and support lifelong practices of wellness among healthcare professionals: generating preliminary solid steps towards a culture of wellness. BMC medical education, 24(1), 1364. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06353-7
Seetharaman, M., Krishnan, G., & Schneider, R. H. (2021). The Future of Medicine: Frontiers in Integrative Health and Medicine. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 57(12), 1303. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57121303
https://www.heallist.com/resources/blog/sustainable-practices-in-holistic-health-trends-for-eco-friendly-healing
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Session Google Doc
https://chatgpt.com/
ChatGPT and PerplexityAI Prompt - “Cultivating Holistic Healthcare Practitioners for a Sustainable Future how to design medical curriculum to teach and assess”
Designing a medical curriculum that cultivates holistic healthcare practitioners for a sustainable future involves integrating traditional medical knowledge with a broader, more inclusive approach to health, wellness, and community care. This curriculum should emphasize not only the treatment of disease but also prevention, mental health, social determinants of health, environmental factors, and patient-centered care.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for designing such a curriculum:
### **1. Curriculum Foundation: Core Principles**
- **Holistic Health Philosophy**: The foundation of the curriculum should rest on the concept of treating the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—rather than focusing solely on the disease. This includes understanding the interconnectedness of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being.
- **Sustainability**: Given the global environmental and healthcare challenges, sustainability should be embedded in every part of the curriculum, encouraging practitioners to think about long-term solutions, both in patient care and in broader public health policy. This includes sustainable medical practices, reducing the ecological footprint of healthcare, and fostering health equity.
- **Cultural Competence**: Teaching how to interact with diverse populations, understanding cultural beliefs about health and healing, and promoting health equity is central to preparing a practitioner who can work in a global, interconnected world.
- **Interdisciplinary Approach**: Encourage collaboration across disciplines like nursing, psychology, public health, and complementary therapies. Holistic care benefits from a multi-disciplinary perspective and teamwork in addressing patients’ needs from multiple angles.
- **Community-Centered Care**: Focus on how practitioners can serve their communities, understanding local health challenges, and providing care that reflects the values and needs of those communities.
### **2. Content Areas to Include**
- **Foundations of Holistic Medicine**:
*History, philosophy, and principles of holistic health*. Introduce integrative and complementary medicine (e.g., acupuncture, nutrition, herbalism, mindfulness, and alternative therapies) alongside conventional medicine.
- **Patient-Centered Care**:
Teach the art of deep listening, empathy, and effective communication. This involves patient education, shared decision-making, and forming a therapeutic relationship.
- **Chronic Disease Management & Prevention**:
Equip students with the skills to manage long-term health conditions with an emphasis on prevention, lifestyle medicine, and community-based interventions.
- **Mental and Emotional Health**:
Focus on psychological well-being, stress management, resilience, and how mental health impacts physical health.
- **Social Determinants of Health**:
Examine how factors like socioeconomic status, education, environment, and access to healthcare affect overall health outcomes. Teach strategies for advocating for vulnerable populations and addressing health disparities.
- **Global Health and Sustainability**:
Cover the environmental factors that influence health (e.g., climate change, pollution, food security) and sustainability practices in healthcare delivery, such as waste reduction, energy-efficient facilities, and resource conservation.
- **Ethical and Legal Issues in Holistic Medicine**:
Discuss the ethical dilemmas practitioners might face when integrating conventional and alternative treatments, patient autonomy, and respect for diverse values and beliefs.
- **Technology in Healthcare**:
Address the role of technology in holistic healthcare, including telemedicine, electronic health records, AI in diagnostics, and digital tools for self-management.
### **3. Teaching and Learning Approaches**
- **Active Learning & Case-Based Learning**:
Use real-life case studies where students must apply holistic principles in treating diverse patients. This could involve a variety of scenarios—chronic illness, mental health issues, social challenges, and cultural contexts.
- **Simulation and Role-Playing**:
Simulations and role-playing exercises allow students to practice patient communication skills, decision-making, and team collaboration. These can be used to help students navigate difficult patient-provider relationships or sensitive cultural issues.
- **Interprofessional Education (IPE)**:
Foster collaboration between students from different healthcare disciplines. Through joint problem-solving and shared learning experiences, students can develop a more well-rounded approach to care.
- **Community-Based Learning**:
Partner with local clinics, non-profits, or community health organizations where students can work directly with underserved populations and apply holistic care principles in real-world settings.
- **Mind-Body Connection Training**:
Teach stress-reduction techniques, mindfulness, yoga, or tai chi, not just as practices to recommend to patients but as tools for self-care and well-being for healthcare professionals themselves.
- **Reflective Practice**:
Encourage students to engage in reflective journaling, group discussions, or mentoring to assess their own biases, emotional responses, and growth in understanding holistic care.
### **4. Assessment Methods**
To assess whether students are effectively learning holistic principles and integrating them into practice, consider a variety of assessment methods:
- **Formative Assessments**:
Quizzes, group discussions, written reflections, and role-playing assessments to gauge understanding of theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
- **Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)**:
OSCEs with stations designed to test students’ communication, cultural competence, and holistic care skills (e.g., counseling a patient on managing chronic disease while considering their social circumstances).
- **Portfolios**:
Students can document their learning journey, integrating experiences from community service, internships, case studies, and reflections on how they applied holistic principles in their clinical practice.
- **360-Degree Feedback**:
Collect feedback from peers, instructors, and patients (if possible) on the student’s ability to practice holistic, patient-centered care.
- **Practical Projects**:
Assign projects where students create and implement community health interventions that address both local healthcare challenges and sustainability.
- **Capstone Projects**:
A final project in which students develop and present a holistic healthcare model or intervention for a specific community or population, considering all the factors that influence health (e.g., medical, environmental, social, economic).
### **5. Continuous Improvement**
- **Ongoing Faculty Development**:
Faculty should receive training in holistic teaching methods, sustainability, and interdisciplinary collaboration to model the behaviors and values they want to instill in their students.
- **Student and Community Feedback**:
Regular feedback from students and the communities they serve can help refine and update the curriculum to keep it relevant and effective.
- **Adapting to New Research and Trends**:
Holistic healthcare is a dynamic field, with new practices, philosophies, and sustainability models emerging. Regularly review and integrate new evidence-based practices and innovations.
### **6. Sustainability in the Curriculum**
- **Focus on Sustainable Practices in Healthcare**:
Educate students on minimizing waste, reducing energy use, and promoting eco-friendly policies in healthcare systems.
- **Health and Climate Change**:
Integrate lessons on how environmental health impacts individual and population health, emphasizing sustainable practices both in clinical settings and broader public health frameworks.
By fostering a holistic approach to healthcare education, practitioners will be better equipped to meet the diverse and evolving needs of patients, communities, and the planet, ensuring a sustainable future for both healthcare systems and society as a whole.
## Designing a Medical Curriculum for Holistic Healthcare Practitioners
To cultivate holistic healthcare practitioners equipped for a sustainable future, medical curricula must integrate comprehensive educational frameworks that emphasize systems thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and holistic assessment methodologies. Here’s how to design and assess such a curriculum effectively.
### **1. Integrating Systems Thinking**
A robust curriculum should frame health education as a **complex adaptive system**. This involves recognizing the interconnections between personal, programmatic, and practical elements of healthcare education. The **3P-6Cs toolkit** provides a framework to achieve this by linking:
- **Personal**: Individual learner experiences and backgrounds.
- **Program**: The structured educational components.
- **Practice**: Real-world applications in healthcare settings.
By applying this systems thinking approach, educators can create integrated designs that capture students' developmental journeys and prepare them for evolving healthcare models[1].
### **2. Emphasizing Interdisciplinary Learning**
Given the complexity of health challenges, curricula should promote **interdisciplinary education**. This can be achieved through:
- **Modified Course Designs**: Implementing models that allow students to explore connections between different health disciplines.
- **Integrated Assessments**: Using assessments that require students to demonstrate their ability to work across disciplines and apply knowledge in collaborative settings.
Such an approach not only enhances knowledge but also fosters essential skills for teamwork in healthcare environments[4].
### **3. Holistic Health Assessments**
Curricula must include training on **holistic health assessments**, which focus on understanding the whole patient rather than just their immediate medical issues. Key components of holistic assessments include:
- Comprehensive evaluations of physical, mental, social, and environmental factors.
- Collaborative goal-setting with patients to empower them in their care processes.
This person-centered approach ensures that future practitioners are adept at considering all aspects of a patient's well-being[2][5].
### **4. Incorporating Sustainability Education**
With the increasing importance of sustainability in healthcare, curricula should embed principles of **sustainable healthcare practices**. This includes:
- Teaching about the impact of environmental factors on health outcomes.
- Integrating sustainability into existing modules across all specialties.
Such integration can be facilitated through participatory learning methods and real-world problem-solving scenarios that highlight the relevance of sustainability in clinical practice[3].
### **5. Assessment Strategies**
Evaluating student competencies in holistic and sustainable healthcare requires innovative assessment methods beyond traditional examinations. Suggested strategies include:
- **Portfolio Assessments**: Allowing students to document their engagement with holistic practices and sustainability concepts.
- **Reflective Writing**: Encouraging students to reflect on their learning experiences and how they apply holistic principles in practice.
- **Creative Outreach Activities**: Involving students in community projects that promote health education and sustainability awareness[3][6].
### Conclusion
Designing a medical curriculum that cultivates holistic healthcare practitioners involves a multifaceted approach integrating systems thinking, interdisciplinary learning, holistic assessments, sustainability education, and innovative assessment strategies. By doing so, educational institutions can prepare future healthcare providers to meet the complex demands of modern healthcare while promoting a sustainable future for the profession.
Citations:
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7789213/
[2] https://academicpartnerships.uta.edu/healthcare-nursing-online-programs/rn-to-bsn/holistic-health-assessment/
[3] https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2949/education-for-sustainable-healthcare_a-curriculum-for-the-uk_20220506.pdf
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39130680/
[5] https://www.aiam.edu/alternative-medicine/holistic-assessment-nursing/
[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11590568/
[7] https://corp.nhg.com.sg/College/Pages/Highlights/nhgcollegearticle202206.aspx
[8] https://onlinedegrees.umhb.edu/online-programs/healthcare/rn-to-bsn/holistic-health-assessments/
