Congratulations to Joe Keane, this year’s Greener Practice Sheffield Medical School winner!
A year 3 medical student who undertook two prescribing improvement projects during his GP placement has won this year’s Greener Practice Sheffield Medical School Student Selected Component (SSC) ‘best student’ prize. Joe Keane (pictured) from South Yorkshire, impressed his placement supervisors with his commitment, enthusiasm and the positive impact of his work.
Greener Practice has been facilitating ‘sustainable healthcare’ general practice placements for medical students at the University of Sheffield Medical School since 2021. Students who choose this module begin by learning the principles and practice of sustainable healthcare, before gaining hands-on experience of quality improvement work in a general practice, mentored and supported by Greener Practice. By subscribing to Greener Practice, Sheffield Medical School provides their students with full access to Greener Practice resources, including Quality Improvement Projects, which are step-by-step guides to effect change.
Joe, who completed his 6-week placement at a GP practice in two Sheffield practices, describes his experience: “The Greener Practice SSC has been one of the most thought-provoking and rewarding student selected placements of my medical school journey so far. It introduced me to a dimension of medical practice I had not previously considered in depth — the environmental impact of healthcare — and gave me practical tools to make a difference from early in my career.
“I carried out a quality improvement project examining folic acid prescribing in primary care which taught me how clinical habits, however routine, can carry both patient safety and sustainability implications. Conducting the audit cycle gave me hands-on experience in identifying gaps in practice, analysing data, and proposing realistic changes — skills directly applicable to any future role.
“I also planned and delivered an asthma inhaler project that was particularly fulfilling. Inhaler choice is an area where clinical decision-making and environmental responsibility genuinely intersect, and engaging with primary care teams on this felt immediately meaningful. It reinforced that sustainable medicine does not require compromise on patient care and placed a strong emphasis on shared decision making and holistic management of patients.
“During the placement, I participated in weekly seminars that broadened my understanding of planetary health and the NHS’s net zero commitments, equipping me with a framework for thinking about sustainability across all specialties. This SSC has genuinely shaped how I will approach prescribing and service improvement throughout my career, and I would strongly recommend it to future students.”
Dr Honey Smith, Greener Practice Director, who leads the Sheffield Medical School sustainable healthcare GP placement programme, says, “We were delighted to award this year’s Greener Practice Sheffield Medical School SSC prize to Joe Keane, for his diligence and self-direction during the placement. Joe’s folic acid project will save the practice about £500 a year on their indicative drug budget, and his asthma inhaler project was also very well received.
“We would be delighted to run this project at other medical schools; please get in touch if you would like to discuss this. We welcome Sheffield practices on to the project, and are happy to take up to 6 students per placement.”
Joe’s prize was ‘Sustainable Healthcare’ by Schroeder, Thompson, Frith and Pencheon (published by Wiley Blackwell), which sets out a vision for medical care of high quality, manageable cost and low impact on the planetary systems which sustain us. He also received a box of tea and a strainer (which avoids the plastic waste of teabags), for much-needed refreshment during busy medical student days. Well done Joe!