Peace-through-health and Health Sciences Education: Teaching Students New Skills

How is it that in an ostensibly peaceful culture, values of revenge and war are cultivated? How is it that a future physician who has so much potential to promote peace and mitigate conflict could instead endorse violent retaliation that would inevitably result in the loss of innocent lives? A strong sentiment of anger and of a need for swift and brutal retaliation seems to be sweeping North America. While it is impossible to fully appreciate the trauma and grief experienced by the thousands of people affected, the emerging desire to blame someone has dangerous ramifications for everyone. The disbelief that anything so heinous could happen in the mighty United States brings home the message that even in an allegedly peaceful nation, ideas of retribution and intolerance exist. It is also confirmation of the need for peace-building at home, for destructive conflict does not just exist in the developing world or in nations at war. The opinions voiced by some of our colleagues poignantly substantiate our belief that the concept of peace -through-health should be included in health sciences education. Health care workers need to be exposed early in their education to the role they can play in promoting peace both globally and locally. Introducing health science students to the tools and strategies they can use to successfully meld health initiatives with peace initiatives will not only enrich the education of these students and influence their potential career choices; it will also benefit the communities with whom they work. As the world is trying to understand the recent violent events in the United States, it becomes clear that the role of health professional as peace-builder is too important to ignore.