Race in Medical School

Being a student of colour in medical school presents different challenges than those who aren't ethnic minorities.

As a medical student, there is always the fear that your race may impact your interaction with patients, as some still hold the unfortunate belief that the best doctors are white, when this is not and never has been the case.

Ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the NHS, and it can be difficult not always feeling represented in a field that you want to go into, as well as reports of bullying and harassment of people of colour by colleagues who are supposed to respect you.

The medical curriculum also is centred towards white skin a lot of the time. There is a lack of education about what different conditions look like on people of colour, and our anatomy textbooks show mostly white bodies and diagrams.

While inclusivity has much improved over the years in medicine, there is still much to do by ways of reducing the difficulties faced by BAME groups. No one should have to be worried that the colour of their skin will affect how they are treated or define how much respect they receive.