During my time in medical school, I have been lucky enough to see the work of my peers such as “Mind the Gap” and “Blackandbrownskin.co.uk” by Malone Mukwende. The impact his work had on our ethnically diverse communities still stands to this day, however there is still much to improve. When I attended my 4th Year dermatology lectures, I was heartbroken to notice how there was no equality of skin representation images on the slides. All the images were white with no images of black and brown skin types. This inequity perpetuates inequality of health outcomes.

Collaborative Lecture Series
Upon discussing this with fellow Dermatology Society presidents, they mentioned similar experiences.

To provide the teaching I was looking for, I put together the Skin of Colour London Lecture series with the help of the SGUL, UCL, King’s, Imperial Bart’s Dermatology Societies with the support of the “Skin of Colour training day” team.

To do this we have produced a total of 9 virtual lectures all accessible via a donation to the British Skin Foundation. The success of the project, as evidenced by the enthusiastic attendance and significant online engagement, demonstrates the demand for more inclusive medical education. We are hoping that this series not only educates healthcare students about the diversity in skin presentations but also encourages students (and staff) to stand up for change and always be curious to learn more to improve patient care. There are always likeminded students and individuals ready to work together to produce the content and teaching you wish you had. We are hoping our fundraiser for the British Skin Foundation allows them to support healthcare professionals to come together to produce research to improve patient healthcare in a similar way.

Vaseharan “Vassy” Suntharan – Event Organiser and Chair 

Committee members
Vaseharan Suntharan – (President of the SGUL Dermatology society) 
Ezigbo Iyamah (SGUL)
Morayo Ogungbesan
Thabia Tapadar
Lamisa Ahmed (SGUL)
Precious Nemedia (SGUL)
Lakshe Thevapalan (UCL Dermatology Society President) 
Yoon Soo Park (Imperial Dermatology Society President)
Ritika Roy (KCL Dermatology President)

Thank you to Dr Marisa Taylor (Co-Founder of SOCTUK) and Dr Dominique Doa (Committee Member of SOCTUK) from “Skin of Colour Training UK” for all your support on overseeing the planning and execution of the lecture series.

Thank you to the SGUL, Imperial, UCL, KCL, Barts Dermatology societies’ committee members for assisting the advertising and promotion of the event.