Dissatisfied with the response, she was forced to conduct her own research to find this out. Another triggering instance was when she witnessed an actor during a simulation in an OSCE exam make disparaging and stereotypical comments about African countries.
Due to these situations, this report has been created to help educate students on the diverse needs of minority groups and in turn deliver an adequate level of care to all. The students’ primary focus was tackling the decolonisation of the curriculum.
The findings showed a lack of representation of conditions on black skin, minimal statistics about conditions largely affecting black people, and a lack of representation of black healthcare professionals. The students made recommendations such as including relevant information within the teachings. The suggestions received widespread acclaim from the staff, and some members of staff had reported making changes to their learning materials after reading the report.
Additionally, Adanna described the positive response from her university and their willingness to get things right. Lastly, on allyship, Adanna praised some lecturers for taking ownership and recognising that their lack of cultural awareness in relation to health during their degree, could have resulted in having a negative impact on their communication with ethnic minority groups.
Adanna emphasised the importance of being an ally of the BAME community and concluded that “Allyship is about working towards creating diverse and inclusive communities and standing up for the rights of those who are marginalised.”
Learn more
- The full report can be found here
- Mind the Gap is a clinical handbook of signs and symptoms in black and brown skin
- More information on how to become an ally of the BAME Network can be found here
- Proud to be an ally by Paul Draycott
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