Taking a sabbatical is like hitting the pause button on our careers. Rather than struggle to keep up with work, sabbaticalists struggle to slow down. Sabbaticals offer the opportunity to learn and grow new passions.

This past year, I stepped down as Radiology Chair at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to pursue a sabbatical in climate change and sustainable medicine. I’m immensely grateful to those who’ve taught me this past year about sustainability.

I’m now pleased to share these 10 lessons. While these are focused on climate change, they are applicable to many areas of science, especially when we introduce our scientific learnings into local communities.

1. The Future Is Already Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed

This observation by William Gibson rings true for most things, including climate change. We need not wait until 2030 for someone at COP35 to declare the arrival of climate change. It’s already here, and like a cunning foe, it discriminates against those least able to defend themselves. Those folks are counting on us to help them. How might our research improve the health of communities and the planet?

2. Communication: the Biggest Challenge of Climate Change

Academics love to speak in jargon, the more syllables the better. Case in point: the term “heuristics”.

Heuristic. (noun) a fancy academic term for practical “rules of thumb”.

This year, I learned a new rule of thumb: avoid jargon when speaking to diverse audiences. There’s no quicker way to lose potential new allies, especially if our words are considered partisan. Let’s aim to recruit more people to support science and care for the planet, not isolate within our tribes.

This lesson extends to all fields of study. When explaining our science to others–even if they are in adjacent fields–let’s recall the curse of knowledge: we’ve learned so much along the way that we forget other people may not know it.

3. Climate Action Requires Playing Chess, Not Checkers

This lesson is not obvious. If it were, people wouldn’t say, “Why worry about healthcare emissions?” or “Let’s get rid of nuclear energy”; this is playing checkers. By necessity, addressing complex systems, such as the climate, involves tradeoffs, which is more like playing chess. There are downstream effects which may negate the benefits of initial climate actions.

Consider the tip below from Stroh & Zurcher:

The same holds true for leadership within any academic discipline.

4. Sustainability Can Revitalize the Healthcare Workforce

My biggest surprise when attending Climate Week NYC in September 2023 was observing the profound energy of the attendees. There was a calling to serve; a sense of community. It reminded me of when I first entered medicine many decades ago.

Nowadays I don’t know a single healthcare professional aged 50 or over who is not looking to reduce their clinical workload. This is a shame.

To respond, we need to reimagine our workforce, renew meaning to our work, and recruit new folks to enter healthcare. What if healthcare was considered a “climate job”? We might attract some of the 25% of college grads who consider climate the #1 problem facing society. After all, the health of humans depends upon the health of communities and the planet.

5. Tobacco and Fossil Fuels: Blood Brothers

Who knew that the concept of personal “carbon footprints” was invented by British Petroleum as a sneaky way to deflect corporate responsibility onto consumers? Their PR campaign was wildly successful. In fact, some climate purists took the bait so much that they shame the rest of us for flying.

As we learned with masks and vaccines during COVID, shaming never works.

Fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change, and like tobacco, are bad for our health. Over the coming years, expect more emphasis of this in healthcare. Read my previous post to learn more.

How do we reduce the environmental footprint in our labs? If you or your PI haven’t considered this, it’s time do so. Check out My Green Lab to learn how.

6. The Double Helix of Climate Change and Equity

Climate plans should address health equity, and vice versa. There’s currently far too little overlap between efforts to improve health equity and to adapt communities to climate change. By intentionally linking them, we can change that.

If you are involved in health equity research or global health, including aims that help individuals or communities adapt to climate change is an easy way to stand apart from your peers.

7. Network, Network, Network

This past year, I spoke with more than 350 people from across the globe: hospital CEOs to chefs, poets to politicians, and students to scientists. In person, I visited a host of facilities across the USA, Netherlands, Finland, and Austria. I learned by listening, asking questions, and observing. I recall a renowned sustainability leader telling me, “My network is my advantage.”

Networking is a great way to learn, to help others, and to save time. Why start from scratch when others already know what to do?

This lesson works especially well during training. After all, networkers will simply be exposed to more future job opportunities.

8. Start With Empathy: Green the Green

Innovation involves adopting new products, practices, and/or services that generate value. Without a regulatory requirement, US medicine is glacially slow to innovate. In the highly competitive market of US healthcare, 40% of hospitals now lose money. Adoption thus requires addressing the business case for sustainability.

Hospital C-suites are kind of like coal miners in West Virginia: no amount of talking about the planet will move them to act unless it’s in their own interest. This doesn’t make them evil, wrong, or ignorant; it makes them human.

So what is the business imperative for sustainable medicine? To save money. Yes, and depending upon setting, to also improve quality, innovation, health outcomes, research, workforce recruitment & retention, reputation, etc. By adding sustainability to healthcare’s toolbox, we have a new set of tools to address old-fashioned problems.

The same holds true for labs. Going green is a win for innovation, recruiting, and saving costs.

9. Fight for the Biggest Patient of All

Healthcare professionals treat patients; we can also treat the planet. This past year, I learned it’s better to fight for the planet’s health rather than against climate change. As I discussed in my first post of 2024, the term “planetary health” conveniently sidesteps the most partisan phrase in America.

10. Stories to Move, Data to Prove

A good working assumption: hardly anyone knows and cares about the Paris Agreement, 1.5°C, and RCP climate models. Most Americans, including healthcare professionals, do not know that 1.5°C equals 2.7°F. And for those who do, it’s still an abstract number with little intrinsic meaning.

To overcome this, humanize climate change through stories. For instance, explain what it’s like to experience more tick bites, wildfires, or extreme weather events; the difficulties of purchasing flood insurance in the Gulf Coast; or the need to care for our parents during extreme heat.

Retirees might want to think twice before moving to Miami or parts of the American Southwest. I’m not judging those decisions. However, we are better off equipping our friends and family with narratives that they will understand.

Data can then be used to support the stories.

This lesson can be expanded to communicating science to those outside of your direct field.

Call To Action

This past year was a privilege. I’m thrilled to help any individual, lab, or organization advance their sustainability goals. Just contact me.

Hopefully you will consider these lessons useful and pragmatic.

I have one direct ask: consider time as more valuable than money. It took me too long in my career to recognize this.

“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize that we only have one” –Confucius

I now realize the meaning of Confucius’ words. Do you?

Thanks for reading, and hope you consider the planet when advancing your academic career!

About the Author

Screen Name

Reed Omary, MD

About Me

Clinician scientist who has fully pivoted his career into sustainable medicine & planetary health. Vanderbilt Radiology Chair 2012 - 2023; Founder, The Green Leap sustainable healthcare blog at www.reedomary.com