Unlearning Medical Education
Wednesday 25th February @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
This member-run workshop brings health workers together for a practical discussion about how – and why – we can start to ‘unlearn’ oppressive systems underpinning our own medical educations. We’ll consider who’s harmed and uplifted by medical pedagogy, how our education shows up in our practices today, and start working collectively towards alternative ways of learning towards health justice. This session will feature group discussions and a critical conversation between Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan and Dr Jo Hartland about their personal, intellectual, and professional experiences of medical learning.
This workshop is hosted by Medact’s Political Education Working Group. Spaces are limited to encourage group discussion – reserve your spot ASAP!
Dr Jo Hartland (they/them) is an Associate Professor of Health Justice Education and School Deputy Education Director at Bristol Medical School. Drawing on their previous work as Doctor in the NHS, their teaching on health justice within medicine is co-produced in partnership with marginalised communities, bringing the voices of those historically excluded from healthcare into curriculum development. Nationally they are the Co-Chair for the Executive Board of the Medical Schools Council (MSC) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Alliance. They are also an award-winning queer health activist, and in their own time led the development of the GLADD UK Medical Schools Charter on So-Called LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy which led to their attendance at parliament briefing MPs on these issues. In recognition of their work they were awarded a 2024 National Teaching Fellowship Award and the 2023 Attitude Pride Award. Their research, writing and public speaking explores themes of justice and power in medical education. They hope to use their experience and platform as a disabled and queer educator to role model authentic and meaningful work in healthcare education leadership, inspiring students and colleagues to join in with marginalised communities fighting for social justice.
Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan (she/her) is a doctor, researcher and writer. She qualified in 2004 and is an NHS Consultant in HIV Medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and Deputy Director of the SHARE Collaborative for Health Equity, Queen Mary University of London. Her clinical work, research and advocacy focus on improving health equity. Rageshri has held numerous national charity and policy positions and regularly works with patient organisations. She currently chairs the British HIV Association EEDI Group and steering group of 4M Mentor Mothers CIC. Rageshri is the author of Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing (Trapeze, 2024) longlisted for the Bread and Roses Prize for Radical Non-Fiction. She is an inaugural Wellcome Collection x Spread the Word non-fiction writer awardee (2022).