The Activist Physiologist: A Transformative Approach to Sustainable Development and Authentic Assessment: Physiology as Activism on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In this presentation Drs. McGahon and Roe from Queen’s University Belfast will be showcasing their innovative assessment that draws links between the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the discipline of Physiology.
They will describe their experiences of running the assessment over the 2 years since its inception and their realisation that, not only did it constitute an authentic and richly contextual means of assessing physiology, it also created a cohort of physiology activists. Students became passionate advocates for (amongst other things) victims of wartime trauma, persons dealing with intimate partner violence and prevention of climate collapse. In addition, student testimony details that their experience of the assessment was deeply meaningful, on occasion healing, and often transformational.

This is an age of global crisis where The Physiological Society is turning its attention to addressing the challenges embodied by the United Nations call to action. There have been Sustainability Policies authored and Position Statements made by The Society which has hosted dedicated conferences on these issues. This indicates a commitment to sustainability and a desire to effect change. The authors argue that our young investigators are potentially our greatest asset in meeting the new existential challenges of the modern age and it is incumbent on us as physiology educators to equip them to meet these challenges.