At our university, 66 per cent of medical students come from UK minoritised ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the vibrant diversity of Leicester. This gives us both the responsibility and the opportunity to learn from the challenges our students face, address structural inequalities in medical education and create a learning environment where every student feels they truly belong.
In 2020, the British Medical Association’s Racial Harassment Charter highlighted the inequitable treatment of ethnic minority medical students. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic exposed stark health disparities, and the murder of George Floyd deeply affected our student community. These events were the catalyst for the creation of a student-staff group committed to racial justice in medicine and medical education: MedRACE (Medicine: Raising Awareness, Celebrating Excellence).
- Helping Black students thrive in art education
- Show, not just say, that your institution is a place for everyone
- Stop asking students to be the lesson and focus on choice and consent
What began as a small online meeting with a handful of students has grown into a thriving community of more than 80 members. Some of those original students are now qualified doctors, who continue to attend monthly meetings, teach new cohorts and champion racial justice in their NHS trusts. MedRACE has met every month since 2020, embedding EDI in the curriculum, supporting students to speak out, addressing racial harassment on placements and strengthening reporting and complaints processes.
So what makes MedRACE work? We believe there are six key features that underpin its success, which were identified through an external evaluation:
1. Authentic student-staff collaboration
MedRACE is built on trust. Students share their lived experiences honestly, confident that staff will listen, represent their views and take action. Student involvement – through student co-chairs and a flat hierarchy – allows a diversity of perspectives to be heard. We schedule regular monthly meetings around student availability, and staff are responsive to email queries and suggestions. This collaboration ensures that the challenges we tackle are authentic and the solutions we create together are meaningful.
2. A proactive approach
We don’t just highlight problems – we solve them. MedRACE is action-oriented, taking concrete steps to drive change. Instead of governance as a box-ticking exercise, our monthly meetings are lively and purposeful. When students suggest improvements, such as including student representatives on school appointment panels, we act. Following consultation and training, these ideas become reality. In fact, a MedRACE student sat on the panel to appoint our current head of school.
3. Consistent support from leadership
We’ve benefited from sustained backing from heads of school and college, and university leadership. Even when change has been difficult, support has remained strong and visible. Our leaders actively champion MedRACE, speaking about its positive impact even when we’re not in the room. Their advocacy has led to local and national conference invitations, helping to share the impact more widely.
4. Seeing change motivates
Seeing change happen motivates both staff and students. Completed projects inspire us to put forward new ideas and build confidence that this is a space where voices are heard and action follows.
One highly visible example was the MedRACE art exhibition on inclusion in healthcare, which transformed the atrium of our building, and is now a feature showcasing our ongoing commitment to inclusion.
We are pragmatic, too, and recognise that sometimes we have to adapt a solution to keep progress moving. Our inclusive headwear project, initiated and led by students, resulted in the sourcing of theatre headwear suitable for those with larger hair or braids or who wear religious headwear. Through this process, students saw first-hand that raising an issue could lead to meaningful change.
5. Student led, staff supported
Ultimately, the group is about our students having a voice. Staff step back to allow students to lead, while remaining present to support and facilitate. We recognise that the strength of the group lies not in individuals but in the collective – a community connected by a shared desire for change. Personal recognition is not our focus. What matters is the recognition and impact of the group as a whole.
As staff, we have access to senior leaders and we can advocate for ideas in settings that students might not always have access to. This empowers students to shape the agenda and drive the change they want to see, with staff facilitating the process.
6. People-centred culture
Within MedRACE, we’ve cultivated a welcoming environment that allows students to comfortably raise concerns and discuss sensitive topics. Every voice is important and will be heard.
A student raised a concern that they were being prohibited from scrubbing into a surgical theatre because their kara, a religious metal bangle worn by many Sikhs, was deemed an infection risk and they were instructed to remove it. NHS policies allow the wearing of wedding bands in theatres as long as extra hygiene precautions are taken. However, at the time, karas were not recognised in the local trust’s policy – but after we spoke with them, they agreed to review.
This approach ensures that students feel heard, which results in more people feeling able to speak out. No issue is too big or too small, and all receive attention.
Examples of MedRace projects include:
- Active bystander training: Equipping students with the skills to challenge inappropriate behaviour and support peers.
- Curriculum and policy change: Students will often bring policy or curriculum matters to our attention, which we work on together. Student-selected component projects provide a three- to four-week focused time when students can work on projects with academics to review components of the curriculum. They’ve included teaching on recognising jaundice in babies with black and brown skin.
- MedPRIDE and MedDialect expansion: Although MedRACE started with a focus on racial inclusion and justice, this student-staff model has since expanded towards addressing the challenges faced by other minoritised groups.
MedRACE is more than a group – it’s a movement. It’s a model for how student-staff collaboration can lead to lasting, meaningful change. It’s proof that when students are empowered to lead, and staff commit to listening and acting, racial justice in medicine becomes not just a goal, but a reality.
The BMA Charter is a good starting point and framework for students and staff in other institutions aiming to co-develop a similar initiative. MedRACE also works with academic and clinical colleagues locally and nationally, and are happy to be contacted to share our experience (medrace@le.ac.uk).
Kate Williams is professor of education in applied health research and former staff co-chair of MedRACE and Shameq Sayeed is clinical professor and former staff co-chair of MedRACE, both at the University of Leicester.
If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.
comment