Increasing knowledge and inclusivity – encompassing BAME in medical education

Abstract

It is essential that medical education should be equally representative of our society and subsequently the population that we will be serving as practicing physicians. As doctors, we have a duty of care to all members of our community. To align with these values, medical teaching should prepare future physicians to be able to treat patients from all backgrounds and ethnicities. After reflecting on medical education in the current global climate it is evident that there is unfortunately still a lack of ethnically diverse examples of clinical case presentations in medical education resources. This leads to students being ill-prepared in diagnosing certain illnesses in BAME patients which could result in a delay of treatment. It also causes BAME medical students to feel less included and acknowledged in the medical curriculum and can manifest in feelings of isolation and reduced self-worth.

Keywords:

• Clinical
• Integrated
• Roles of teacher
• Education environment
• Evaluation

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Authorship declaration

The author accepts full responsibility for this submission.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simran Bedi

Simran Bedi, BSc, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, UK.