Dear Newcastle University, Newcastle Medical School, Professor Chris Day,

We, the medical students of Newcastle University, acknowledge your email regarding the homicide of George Floyd and the anti-racism movement it has sparked globally. This event followed the murderings of Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor – both of which caused great disturbance within the BAME community.

The university’s track record, and response so far, has left many students, Black, BAME and otherwise, distrustful and weary of the seemingly performative nature of the statements made and the actions taken by the staff.

The University's anti-racism stance is welcome and brings some assurance that BAME students are not alone in the effort to up-haul institutional racial injustice. 

Despite this, Newcastle University still has a long way to go. It is not enough to be anti-racist; we must be pro-inclusivity.

Analysis of the ethnic breakdown of students enrolled at Newcastle University revealed similar results for the academic year 2018/19. Despite the enrolment of 6,720 students, only 125 were Black, 385 were Asian, and 225 were Mixed[i].

For most students at the University, the gut-wrenching, euphoric feeling of starting at a new University, away from friends and family, on a journey to increasing knowledge, is all too familiar. However, for most BAME students, this is compounded with the feeling of trying to fit into a culture that isn’t always welcoming.

Whilst we recognise that the proportion of the BAME population in the North East of England is lower than that of the rest of the country, the burden of inclusivity lies on the University.

There is a poignant lack of cultural representation and diversity of the medical course. Primarily, the lack of teaching illustrations of conditions that commonly affect ethnic minorities, the lack of teaching on conditions affecting ethnic minorities such as Sickle Cell disease and Thalassemia and finally the lack of representation that is portrayed by medical professionals. Currently there is a national petition encouraging medical schools to include BAME representation in clinical teaching but we believe Newcastle should address these issues now and implement the necessary changes to the curriculum for those starting in September. As future doctors going into a culturally diverse society, we believe we lack preparation for and awareness of common conditions that occur in Ethnic Minorities, their treatment and their management plans.

Moreover, in February 2020 the BMA published ‘A charter for medical schools to prevent and address racial harassment’. Since its publication, many medical schools publicly announced the implementation of the charter at their medical school. However, Newcastle Medical School has yet to do so. This further attests to the fact that Newcastle Medical School does not provide the support that BAME medical students require.

As a University, Newcastle must be more proactive in ensuring incidents of hate crime and discrimination don’t happen – such as improving channels for reporting discrimination and providing better training for societies and clubs.

Attached are a list of resources the University can point students towards in furthering this movement.

This open letter has been signed by members of Newcastle University students. We hope this letter will be addressed appropriately by the university and that changes will be implemented. We believe it is the your responsibility to ensure that medical students are given the teaching opportunities necessary to provide BAME and non-BAME students with the highest quality of patient care possible.

 

Signed,

 

 

 

https://www.change.org/p/gmc-medical-schools-must-include-bame-representation-in-clinical-teaching​

"This is how to support Black British people right now - and how not to" - Timi Sotire​

"Anti-racism protests: what are your rights amid the pandemic?" - Ella Braidwood. Primer and round up on the legal right to protest and how / where it can be impacted by the coronavirus regulations.

 

[i] Table 31 - UK domiciled HE qualifiers by HE provider and ethnicity marker 2014/15 to 2018/19 | HESA https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-31 Accessed: 2020-05-07