Anti-racism in postgraduate medical curricula

Racism is a public health threat and is firmly ingrained in the healthcare system. The reasons for this are complex as racism is rooted in historical, political, economic and social structures of society. To improve the health of their patients and the public, doctors must be able to recognise, name and act on the impact of racism. This study aims to understand action taken by postgraduate medical organisations in the UK in the aftermath of the global public reckoning of structural racism and its longstanding impacts on societal health in 2020. We analysed the public statements made by postgraduate medical organisations and then how this relates to the learning outcomes that doctors in training need to complete. We found that while many institutions (n=14) issued public commitments to anti-racism, reviewing the content of all GMC-approved postgraduate curricula (n=102) shows that the majority of UK doctors are receiving minimal or no education or training in anti-racism. As such, we call institutions involved in postgraduate medical education to include anti-racism competencies in medical curricula to support doctors to develop the skills, behaviours and knowledge to name and address the role of racism in health inequalities.