We had a great start to the day by being welcomed at BCU with free coffee! We also got free reusable cups and got to make a sticker which was fun.

We spent the morning preparing for our presentations and asking Claire questions that we have had about the healthcare system. I asked about if and how nurses and teachers are appreciated in the UK. In the US, there are nursing and teacher appreciation weeks, but usually it is only known to the population that has these careers. I thought it was very interesting that during UK quarantine, Claire mentioned that people would come out of their homes and on their front steps at 8pm everyday to cheer for nurses and healthcare professionals. People would sing in the streets and it was a way to show appreciation for those who were working very hard to help people in harms way of the pandemic.

Where did this clapping go now? Why is it that the media is now focusing on how nurses are making mistakes and not working? The ratios are overwhelming for the nurses and asking for support and resources. Remember that the same healthcare heroes that were being praised in 2020 are asking for your help now.

In the presentations, one group focused on immigration and how it plays a role in healthcare and education. They found that 32% of all foreign-born people were in poverty. In language, English language learners is the term in the US and English as an additional language in UK. These terms shows the implicit bias present which is to note.

UK standardized testing offers English as the only language option. US is on a state by state basis. Some state pick what language they choose to accommodate- one could be Spanish, the next French, and the next English only. It is important to ask ourselves why education is not being as accessible as it should. They showed research that the UK education model is more accessible, but NHS has lengthy wait time. This can cause the worsening of conditions until it is an urgent emergency.

In terms of translation, there is a UK medical translating service that works directly with NHS to go to appointments with patients and follow along their medical treatment.

In the next group, they focused on why racial disparities rooted in distrust exist, what this looks like, historical context, and preventative measures. They found that distrust exists between patient and families towards the professionals may be due to the Tuskegee studies or mistrust from previous medical experiences. Black men are four times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia due to doctors not paying attention to the applicable symptoms.

In education in the US, the schools with a high minority population have less funding due to geographical location or socioeconomic rate. This will result underperformance of students for things that are out of their control. In the UK, there are a lack of BAME educators and therefore less representation. Racial identity is important and helps create a belonging. At the end of march 2020, 83% of early education instructors are white women, which shows there is not enough representation.

For preventative measures, there has been a Maternity Disparities Taskforce created in the UK. It explores inequalities, finds out why this occurs, and how can they prevent this. By 2025, they would like to have the data of how this affects reproductive health.

In the last group, they discussed the impact of sexism in the education and healthcare systems. They focused on the idea that both these systems are known as ‘pink-collar’ jobs, which are jobs traditionally held by women. NHS employees make up 77% women, which can affect the gender pay gap. Women are being paid for less when they make up more of the system.

In education, men are more likely to not go for to university for personal reasons, while women are likely to not go because they cannot afford it financially. This is interesting to note because university is a big part of a person’s life that factors of life before and after it impacts a persons decision.

It was great to learn about these interesting topics from all the presentations. Had a nice dinner and good ice cream in the evening. Looking forward to the next two fun days: Oxford and London!

Mary