Courageous Medicine for The Climate Health Crisis: Activating the Medical Community on Climate Ashley McClure, MD

“When the public links climate change with their own health, they’re much more likely to take action” 
Dr. Sheri Weiser is a professor of medicine in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at UCSF, works at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and is a researcher for how extreme weather drives food insecurity and poor health outcomes.  She is also involved in educational initiatives in the UC system to infuse themes of climate change and sustainability into health professional education, co-launching a UC wide center on Climate Health and Equity.  Dr. Weiser redefines the role of health professionals, provides advice on how to engage with those who think climate change is not in their lane, and tangible ways to harness brilliance to combat harmful inaction.
Check out The University of California Center for Climate, Health, and Equity at: climatehealth.ucsf.edu
If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com

If you live outside California, we recommend you find your state clinicians for climate action group by visiting the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s website at: medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/about/affiliates/

“We as America have not created a robust safety net or we had to rely on a safety net because of so many holes in our larger system and so we as physicians have to be the stewards of offerings, the stewards of resources that can catch everyone that falls through the cracks”

Kelley Butler MS4, MPH completed undergrad at Howard University, where she saw the influence that physicians can have on patients' physical, mental, and social health.  She discusses the difference in mindsets among her medical school classmates, the impact of the AMA and lobbying, and how to get started as an advocate for a healthier world.  

If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com
If you live outside California, we recommend you find your state clinicians for climate action group by visiting the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s website at: medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/about/affiliates/

Check out: @uche_blackstock, @choo_ek, @DrAlethaMaybank, @RheaBoydMD @ChaseTMAnderson on Twitter!  

and here is the environmental health policy statement Kelley mentioned from the SNMA https://cdn.ymaws.com/snma.org/resource/resmgr/hlpa/policy_statements/environmental_health.pdf

"I realized that there was a lot more work to be done and if we weren’t willing to take the values that we think about in public health everyday to our politics then we would always be doomed to try and beat around the bush or pick up the scraps"
Dr. Abdul El Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, educator, author, speaker, podcast host, 2018 Michigan gubernatorial candidate, and former health commissioner of the city of Detroit.  He recounts how growing up in Michigan and Alexandria, Egypt opened his eyes to health disparities, how that inspired him to pursue public health, and how physicians should leverage their abilities to listen to pain in order to advocate for a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.  

Check out Dr. Abdul El Sayed's books: Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic and Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide, his newsletter The Incision, and his podcast America Dissected.  

If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com

If you live outside California, we recommend you find your state clinicians for climate action group by visiting the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s website at medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/about/affiliates/

"We (physicians) have a unique opportunity to leverage our trust, our health expertise, and our influence to advance sustainable healthcare"

Dr. Amy Collins is an emergency physician and senior clinical advisor for physician engagement for Health Care Without Harm.  She illustrates pivotal moments in her life that led her to climate advocacy, the steps she took to keep her promise to her son ranging from educating herself to pitching green methods in the hospital, and how her efforts have prevented burnout.  
Join Health Care Without Harm's Physician Network here and the Health Care Climate Challenge here.  
If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com
If you live outside California, we recommend you find your state clinicians for climate action group by visiting the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s website at medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/about/affiliates/

"...because there is no way you can deny that we need cleaner air, that we need clean water, we need to address our infrastructure, you cannot deny it and just leave it as a prescription— that’s just not good medicine”
Internist Dr Cheryl Holder is an HIV treater, Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Community Initiatives at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, and co-chair of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action.  She chronicles her journey to becoming a physician, how her eyes were opened to the climate crisis through her patients in the community health center, and how clinicians can incorporate climate advocacy in the clinic and beyond.  
Listen to her TED Talk "The Link Between Climate Change, Health, and Poverty."
Interested in the National Health Service Corps?  Check it out here.
If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com
If you live outside California, we recommend you find your state clinicians for climate action group by visiting the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s website.

“We do hold a lot of power and we can use that power to enable people power to achieve some of those structural changes that we want”
Self-proclaimed intellectual pessimist yet action optimist, Pedja Stodijicic, MD, MPH, discusses the power of youth led movements, the agency of collective, and the importance of public narratives alongside the need for positivity and humor in the medical field.  
Visit Pedja’s new website www.peoplepowerhealth.org and sign up to plugin for ways to link arms.  
If you live in California, please join us by visiting www.ClimateHealthNow.org and introduce yourself and become a member by emailing us at: caclimatehealthnow@gmail.com