In recent years, climate change has become a topic at the forefront of media. This publicity of climate change is well needed, as it has become a major issue for the environment. While there are very prevalent issues of climate change, it also has its perks. Climate change is helping to create more career opportunities for college graduates. Many climate related occupations are expected to expand in the coming years. Outside of climate related occupations, other career fields are expanding due to the changing climate. Many of these growing career fields aren’t what you would directly connect to climate change.

A career field that is always in high demand is nursing. Nursing is not a career that most people would connect to climate change, but it is related. Nurses are always adapting their practices and procedures to the ever-changing climate. Climate change is causing many different health risks that were not seen as frequently before. Aside from helping to educate their patients on climate-related health risks, nurses are also being taught how to use new equipment to reduce energy consumption. Hospitals and clinics are pushing to reduce their energy consumption, which means that new technology is needed. Nurses are having to adapt to the change in their practice of medicine. New college graduates in this field can learn this new equipment with ease, as they are being taught this in college.

Another medical field being expanded due to climate change is occupational therapy. Occupational therapists help their patients to live their best, healthiest life as independently as possible. With climate change, occupational therapists are having to adapt their practices due to factors such as heat, floods, and droughts. Occupational therapists need to help educate their patients on the major concerns that come from heat to the body. Occupational therapists also have to be able to adapt to help patients that are severely affected by the changing climate. Some patients might not be able to spend time outside due to changes in the climate. An occupational therapist will have to adapt their practice to help these kinds of patients to still live a healthy, happy, and productive life. There have also been many more climate-related health issues that occupational therapists encounter with their patients on a daily basis.

Physical therapists encounter many of the same challenges as occupational therapists when it comes to climate change. Physical therapists are seeing a much higher percentage of patients that have a climate-related health issue. Learning how to adapt their practice to best serve these patients has become a learning curve. Some climate-related health issues are reoccurring due to the climate changing more every single day. A physical therapist needs to be able to evaluate and help a patient to be rehabilitated from these health issues. They also need to help a patient avoid any issues or pain in the future. Physical therapists in college are learning more of these techniques to help better serve patients while the climate continues to change.

Physicians from all settings are also experiencing the impacts of climate change. Physicians see the widest range of illnesses and have begun to see an increase in climate-related illnesses. Anything from heat stroke to asthma can be caused by the changing climate. Physicians are learning every day new ways to help treat patients and prevent climate-related illnesses. Newly graduated physicians are entering this field and helping to educate patients daily.

Climate change has its upside, even when it seems so detrimental. Many career fields are expanding due to the effects of climate change and having to adapt. Medical fields are not what many would think of as having to adapt to climate change. These health related fields are constantly changing and educating patients due to the climate-related health issues that continue to pop up. Climate change is growing careers for college graduates.

US Premium Health Scholarship ' January 31 2023 Winner Essay

Name: Renee Sampson

Study: Exercise Science for Health Professions

College: The University of Findlay