Challenging Racism: Active Anti-Racism Faculty Development

2023 Spring Forum: Dr Imogen Davies, Dr Catherine Bennett, Dr Emily Unwin

Abstract

The presence of an awarding gap is well recognised across medical education. The Faculty Development team for the MBChB course at Warwick Medical School have been instrumental in designing and running workshops and commissioning professional films of our students’ experiences in order to support our staff to address our awarding gap.

In this conference session, we draw on our knowledge and learning from our anti-racism practice. We will present a brief overview of the contemporary effects of racism and explore some of our interventions at Warwick Medical School that are reducing our awarding gap. We will provide opportunities for discussion about this important topic and hope to inspire you to further the work in your own institutions.

Biographies

Dr Imogen Davies

I am a Senior Teaching Fellow in faculty development for the MBChB at Warwick Medical School and a member of the Anti-Racist Pedagogy in Higher Education Learning Circle at Warwick University. I lead our staff development programme of Challenging Racism workshops and provide other education workshops and teaching on a range of topics to support our MBChB staff. I also teach on the Warwick Masters in Medical Education course.

Dr Catherine Bennett

Catherine Bennett is Academic Lead for Faculty Development for the medical course (MBChB) at Warwick Medical School, the largest graduate-entry course in the UK. She leads the development of strategy for teacher development, including for clinical teachers in partner NHS trusts and primary care. Catherine is also Course Director for the School’s Masters in Medical Education programme. She is currently Chair of the Educator Development Committee of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME).

Dr Emily Unwin

Emily is an Assistant Professor at Warwick Medical School (WMS), where she is a member of the Faculty Development team. She trained and practiced as a medical doctor before going on to complete her PhD in Medical Education, where her research focused on the professional practice of medical doctors. She is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion and is an active member of the WMS Awarding Gap Working group, and the WMS Athena SWAN group.