Donahue Laura M, Morgan Helen K, Peterson William J, Williams John A
J Grad Med Educ. 2021 Feb;13(1):89-94. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-20-00418.1. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
Over the last decade, medical student residency applicants have shown a substantial increase in the number of interviews attended, which is associated with a significant increase in travel. The carbon footprint associated with residency interviews has not been well documented prior to this investigation, and is a critical issue related to climate health.
The purpose of this study is to document the carbon footprint associated with travel to residency interviews of the applicants from a single institution.
Graduating medical students from the University of Michigan Medical School were surveyed in 2020 to gather information regarding travel related to residency interviews. A validated carbon emissions calculator was used to determine the associated carbon footprint.
Response rate was 103 of 174 (59%). Average interviews per student across all specialties was 14.39 interviews per student. The overall class average for total carbon footprint per student was calculated as 3.07 metric tons CO, making the class average carbon footprint per interview 0.21 metric tons CO. If we extrapolate the results of our study to all residents, the resulting CO emissions approach 51 665 metric tons CO per year, which is equivalent to the amount of CO produced by 11 162 passenger cars in 1 year.
Medical education leaders could help reduce the carbon footprint by encouraging a reduction in number of in-person interviews attended by applicants.
在过去十年中，申请住院医师培训的医学生参加面试的次数大幅增加，这与出行显著增加有关。在本次调查之前，与住院医师面试相关的碳足迹尚未得到充分记录，而这是一个与气候健康相关的关键问题。
本研究的目的是记录来自单一机构的申请者参加住院医师面试出行所产生的碳足迹。
2020年对密歇根大学医学院的即将毕业的医学生进行了调查，以收集与住院医师面试相关的出行信息。使用经过验证的碳排放计算器来确定相关的碳足迹。
174名学生中有103名（59%）回复。所有专业的学生平均每人参加14.39次面试。计算得出每个学生的总碳足迹的班级平均水平为3.07公吨二氧化碳，即每次面试的班级平均碳足迹为0.21公吨二氧化碳。如果将我们的研究结果推广到所有住院医师，每年产生的二氧化碳排放量接近51665公吨二氧化碳，这相当于11162辆乘用车一年产生的二氧化碳量。
医学教育领导者可以通过鼓励减少申请者亲自参加面试的次数来帮助减少碳足迹。
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