Clinical Priorities
Johns Hopkins has a tradition of internationally recognized excellence in healthcare and Planetary Health represents a unique opportunity to continue this tradition of transformative innovation, safeguarding a livable future for all life on Earth. The JHIPH Clinical Program will initially focus on clinical education opportunities, collaborating on Greening Healthcare activities, and a clinical fellows initiative.
Planetary Health education encompasses teaching and learning of content, concepts, and skills across disciplines. In medicine and nursing, Planetary Health aligns with shared core values such as health promotion, justice, and advocacy, setting the stage for the transdisciplinary solutions needed to address the Earth Crisis. Engaging these values, and their associated areas of clinical expertise within the Planetary Health framework involves fostering a shift in curricula, transforming clinical spaces, and innovating programs that engage individuals throughout the healthcare sector.
The Clinical Program will help establish Johns Hopkins as a leader in Planetary Health education and practice through the priorities listed below:
Integrate Planetary Health into JHU’s Nursing and Medicine curricula, establishing JHU as a national and global leader in Planetary Health clinical education.
Expand and strengthen Green Healthcare efforts at Johns Hopkins.
Develop a Planetary Health Clinical Fellows Program.
Clinical Activities
Healthcare Sustainability Working Group
This new interdisciplinary group comprised of educators, practitioners, residents, students, and administrators from the Hopkins clinical spaces will begin meeting in February of 2024. Initial priorities:
- Curriculum Integration: In collaboration with leaders from the School of Medicine and School of Nursing, the group will explore and apply best practices for integrating Planetary Health concepts into corresponding curriculum or developing new electives.
- Greening Health Care: By liaising with the Johns Hopkins Health System’s parallel working group in sustainability, we will explore how to reduce the ecological footprint of hospitals and clinics in the JHU system. This work has the potential to serve as a “gateway” to engage faculty, students, and other trainees in Planetary Health as well as to provide global leadership in developing best practices for clinical care consistent with Planetary Health.
- Panel Discussions: At the annual Johns Hopkins Sustainability Symposium in April 2024, the Working Group will facilitate three panel discussions. In addition to the two initial priorities, the third panel will delve into understanding the intricate interplay between our clinical spaces and the local communities we serve. The dual role of our healthcare facilities – as providers of top-tier healthcare and as stewards of the local ecosystems – will be a focal point, highlighting our commitment to the health of the local community inclusive of their environment.
Planetary Health Clinical Fellowship Program
- Phase 1: Emergency Medicine Planetary Health Program: The Department of Emergency Medicine is launching its Planetary Health track in the 2024-25 academic year. Open to senior residents, this program combines targeted interdisciplinary instruction from across Hopkins with real-world projects, convenings and research facilitated by the Planetary Health Alliance network and the new Bloomberg Center.
- Phase 2: Expansion Across Clinical Disciplines: The goal is to make Planetary Health specialty training available to all residencies and fellowships at Johns Hopkins. A self-study is already underway, aimed at identifying existing programs that could seamlessly integrate a Planetary Health focus such as the General Internal Medicine Fellowship or the Preventative Medicine and Occupational & Environmental Residency programs. Furthermore, non-American College of Graduate Medical Education (non-ACGME) and Advanced Specialty Training Programs (ASTP) offer additional potential structures for broadening access to Planetary Health education and training. Collectively, these trainees could be appointed as Fellows of JHIPH.
Faculty Directors
 Chris Lemon |  Nicole Warren |