Fostering EDI in the Undergraduate Physiology curriculum through co-creation with Students

As public-facing global institutions, modern universities must adhere to equality legislation (such as the United Kingdom’s Equality Act1) and meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. For education to be effective, students should feel represented both within the curriculum and in the university’s very structures2. With this goal, staff at the Centre for Biomedical Sciences Education at Queen’s University Belfast invited three students from diverse backgrounds to co-design elements of the Undergraduate Physiology Curriculum for degrees in Medicine, Health, and Life Sciences (MHLS).
During a six-week summer internship, these students aimed to identify gaps in the curriculum, particularly in areas related to protected characteristics under the UK Equality Act 2010, including race, sex, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion and belief, disability, and sexual orientation. Our goal was to embed principles of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to create a learning environment that values diversity and reflects each student.
Over the six-week internship, several themes emerged: self-recognition in the curriculum, cultural humility, and intersectionality. The students highlighted areas for improvement, such as the problematic, but ubiquitous use of the 70kg male in standard physiology texts, which actively excludes large sections of the student population. They also developed guidance for lecturers on Race and Transgender inclusivity within Haematology materials. Additionally, in respiratory function practicals, we crafted a disclaimer to increase students’ awareness of appropriate language for discussing sensitive topics, such as gender and sex. In Female Reproductive Physiology, the students examined how ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status (SES) intersect, ultimately recommending a shift away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach for more authentic, compassionate and scientifically accurate teaching. Through shared perspectives, we have taken important first steps toward decolonizing the Physiology curriculum, revealing also the huge magnitude of the task. We are currently surveying students for their views on this material and look forward to gaining further insights on where additional advances may be made.
1. UK Government. 2013 Equality Act 2010: guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance [cited 22/1/25].
2. Ahmet A. 2020 Who is worthy of a place on these walls? Postgraduate students, UK universities, and institutional racism Area 52: 678-686. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12627