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Speakers at UK gastroenterology trainee events are of high quality, independent of sex, ethnicity and country of primary medical qualification
  1. Syed MH Nadir1,
  2. Emma Saunsbury2,
  3. Heather J Blair3,
  4. Yazan Haddadin4,
  5. Suneil A Raju5,6
  1. 1Gastroenterology department, North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester, UK
  2. 2Department of Hepatology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
  3. 3The Grange University Hospital, Cwmbran, Wales, UK
  4. 4Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
  5. 5Academic Department of Gastroenterology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
  6. 6Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Suneil A Raju; suneilraju{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2024-102960

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    Diversity in healthcare is not just a matter of fairness; it is a driver of improved patient outcomes, innovation and equity.1 A healthcare workforce that reflects the diverse communities it serves would foster trust, enhance cultural competency and deliver more effective care. Although more people of colour (PoC) have joined the National Health Service (NHS) workforce, the gap between representation in the workforce and among executive roles has worsened from 13.5% to 15.7% between 2021 and 2023.2 Furthermore, women currently represent 74% of the workforce but hold fewer than half of NHS trust executive roles, and only 24% of gastroenterology consultants are women.3 4 There has also been a dramatic increase in international medical graduates (IMGs) practising in the UK, with a 121% rise since 2017 and over 10 000 joining the UK medical register in 2022 alone, and they therefore should also be represented among senior roles.5 Trainees can face numerous challenges throughout their training, and diverse role models can offer guidance, inspiration and insight into barriers to success.6 7

    The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) Trainees Section delivers several annual events, including the Education Weekend and the Management and Leadership course for higher specialty trainees and the Taster course for aspiring gastroenterologists. The events serve as platforms for professional development and opportunities for mentorship and career inspiration. Importantly, they are also a chance to promote diversity within our specialty by presenting visible role models to future generations of doctors.

    Recognising that optimising patient outcomes depends on the equality of opportunity, the BSG published a pioneering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy report.8 A key performance indicator was accurate demographic recording and …

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    Footnotes

    • SMN and ES are joint first authors.

    • X @mujtabahasnain, @esaunsbury, @DrSunnyR

    • Contributors SAR and SMHN conceptualised and designed the study. Data was collected by SMHN, SAR and HB. Data was analysed by SAR and interpreted by SAR, ES and YH. The letter was drafted by SMHN with contributions from SAR, ES and YH and reviewed and approved by all authors. SAR is the guarantor of this letter.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests Authors are/were part of the British Society of Gastroenterology Trainees Section.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.