In a time where civil liberties are being ignored and systemic racism and oppression are at their peak, we as future physicians have a responsibility to bring awareness to the deficit in racial diversity and inclusion in our medical education curriculum and learning material. At St. George’s University (SGU) School of Medicine, we believe that the institution can improve our educational material during the preclinical years by describing and presenting clinical diagnoses and conditions as it relates to people of various races and ethnicities as well as restructuring the mandatory Health Promotion, Wellness and Professionalism (HPWP) sessions. As medical students, we are stepping into the role of activism, and addressing diversity and cultural differences in our medical education is imperative to ensure that we, as future physicians, can competently care for an increasingly diverse population.

With this petition, we plan to present to the administration areas of necessary change and provide solutions to the gaps we have noted in our curriculum. We attend medical school on the beautiful island of Grenada, where the majority of its constituents are people of color and we are doing the community and future patients a disservice by not having a more inclusive and holistic education. This is not the fault of the administration but of the system as a whole, and we wish to rectify it within our own community. Change starts with us. Changes to our medical education will not only benefit our future patients but will also benefit students by allowing us to be more well-rounded and understanding of the cultural and racial differences within medicine. Physicians, no matter their own racial, ethnic, or cultural background, must be competent to care for ALL patients. The following recommendations are being proposed:

RECOMMENDATIONS - CURRICULUM:

• To diversify the educational material during Terms 1-5
• To request review and reform of the bioethics portion during Term 3
• To restructure the Health Promotion, Wellness and Professionalism (HPWP) sessions
  • To have student-led panels
• To require diversity and inclusion training or lecture
  • Incorporated into first-year orientation week and in Term 5 before rotations

RECOMMENDATIONS - ADMINISTRATION:

• To establish an Office of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Currently does not exist at SGU

Google Form for Solutions - submit your ideas using this hyperlink.

Thank you for you support, 

SGU Student Advocates for Diversity and Inclusion