The MSC EDI Alliance has been working on producing guidance and recommendations for medical schools to help them develop inclusive learning environments for students and staff.
Active Inclusion, Challenging Exclusions
Despite the substantial outreach work which has been undertaken to address the perception of medicine as an elite profession, including widening access into medical school, there is extensive evidence to demonstrate the continued challenges faced disproportionately by students from marginalised communities. These concerns are not limited to students, with university staff also negatively impacted by poor inclusivity and there remains a clear need within higher education to address these issues. The MSC framework, titled Active Inclusion: Challenging exclusions in medical education, hopes to provide an overview of the challenges that lead to exclusion faced by medical students and staff and suggests actions that can assist medical schools to identify and decisively address these exclusions.
Read the framework: Active Inclusion: Challenging exclusions in medical education
Supporting students of different faiths
It is important that students of all faiths and beliefs feel welcome and included in medical and dental education. Inclusive and diverse learning environments result in a better education for medical and dental students and future clinicians. In the long run, this can lead to patients receiving improved and more compassionate care. This guidance aims to provide readers with advice and suggestions for how to ensure that students of all faiths and beliefs are actively included and able to participate and thrive at medical and dental school.
Read the guidance: Supporting students of different faiths
Decolonising medical and dental curricula
This document has been developed to support leadership teams in medical and dental schools to engage in meaningful discussions and implement concrete action plans to decolonise their curricula. By addressing biases, diversifying perspectives, and ensuring equitable representation in teaching and learning, schools can foster an inclusive education that better serves all students and, ultimately, improves patient care.
Medical and dental schools are encourage leadership teams to use this resource as a catalyst for change—identifying opportunities for reform, embedding inclusive teaching practices, and challenging outdated frameworks that may perpetuate systemic inequities.
Read the guidance: Decolonising medical curricula
Additional resources - Improving experiences for deaf people in healthcare
IDA has been created by Dr Natasha Wilcock, a deaf doctor. She founded IDA Training driven by her own experiences as a deaf patient and doctor and is passionate about inclusive, accessible healthcare.