Environmental and planetary health education for healthcare professionals: A social imperative

Recent literature highlights the urgent need for integrating environmental and planetary health into healthcare education, emphasising the impact of environmental exposures on disease and the interconnection between planetary and human health. However, these discussions often overlook critical social dimensions that make environmental and planetary health training for healthcare professionals not just beneficial, but essential. This paper argues that healthcare professionals possess significant social influence, can address gendered and socioeconomic health inequalities, play a key role in sustainable transitions, serve as critical barriers against pseudoscience and fear-based misinformation, improve crisis preparedness, address regional environmental health disparities, and contribute to lowering healthcare costs. We conclude with recommendations to integrate environmental and planetary health into medical education, continuous professional training and interdisciplinary collaborations.