Mark Voce from the GPhC, Sejal Gohil from HEE, and Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu from University College London (UCL), were keynote speakers, and all delivered informative, reflective, and insightful presentations. Professor Uchegbu’s speech on racial inequality in higher education was described as particularly powerful.
Attendees were invited to join a selection of rotational sessions in between the keynote speakers. In two of the rotational sessions facilitated by Roz Cheeseman from HEE, Josh Wells a PDA LGBT+ Network committee member, and Soh Xi Ken, Honorary Secretary for PDA LGBT+ Network, talked about LGBT+ experiences. After a brief introduction, the panel shared their experiences, both personal and professional, alongside statistics to highlight why representation and visible allyship is important for LGBT+ people, especially within a pharmacy education setting.
A few of the key messages from the sessions were around challenging discrimination, not shying away from difficult conversations, having an open heart, and being comfortable being uncomfortable. Other key messages included collaborating with colleagues rather than deferring to them when it comes to LGBT+ subjects, as well as creating safe spaces to discuss concerns with colleagues and patients.
Sessions at the Pharmacist Education Summit also highlighted that educators need to be aware of intersectional issues and where inequality may occur due to a combination of characteristics. An example of this would be someone being black and also identifying as LGBT+. By being more aware it would help to avoid worsening existing inequalities already faced by individuals.
The rotational sessions were all hosted by people passionate about the subject matter who kindly provided their energy, enthusiasm, and generosity to further improve EDI within pharmacy education and pharmacy as a whole. However, most attendees agreed that the only negative point about the summit was that participants could only attend two out of the four rotational sessions.
The PDA LGBT+ Network committee would like to thank everyone organising and supporting the summit, especially Professor Louise Brown from UCL, Nina Walker from the University of Hertfordshire, Roz Cheeseman from HEE, and many more.
Related links
- PDA LGBT+ Network writes to GPhC and PhSC on more inclusion of LGBT+ education in the MPharm programme
- More inclusion of LGBT+ education needed in pharmacy schools
- Meet the LGBT+ Committee
- Guide to: Discrimination in the Workplace
- PDA LGBT+ Network launch pronoun badges and flyers
Get involved
- Join the PDA LGBT+ network here.
- Follow the PDA LGBT+ Network on social media using the hashtag #PDAlgbt
- Contact the PDA LGBT+ Network committee know by emailing lgbt@the-pda.org
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