Professor Sally Curtis

I taught on the BM6 programme from its inception in 2002, becoming programme lead (2012-2020). I am now Deputy Head of School Education, Admissions Tutor and Co-Chair of the EDI Education group and am working with the Faculty of Medicine to deliver excellent student experience, with a focus on inclusivity and social accountability. 

I am a member of the Medical Schools Council Selection Alliance (MSCSA) and a member of the MSCSA executive board. The board implement successful change management initiatives and formulate strategic plans developing national policy relating to selection and widening participation. I co-wrote the current indicators of best practice in the use of contextual admissions and lead the national data monitoring group for MSCSA board. This group works closely with HESA, UKMED and UCAS and has established a reliable national data set and a robust process for collating and disseminating data whilst monitoring national WP progress at a national level. 

I lead a research group in Medical Education with a particular focus on widening participation and the student experience at a faculty, university, national and international level. Through her contributions to the University of Southampton she been closely involved in the development of the undergraduate WP policy, programme regulations, policies and packages supporting students from a range of underrepresented backgrounds. 

I received the National Teaching Fellow award on 2019 in recognition of my work in widening participation and student support.

Professor Kathy Kendall

I am Professorial Fellow of Sociology as Applied to Medicine. I am the subject lead for Sociology within the School of Medicine and co-chair Behavioural and Social Sciences Teaching in Medicine (BeSST), a national community of practice. I also co-chair the EDI Education Group and the Decolonising the Medical Curriculum Group as well as chair the Medical Schools Council Decolonising the Curriculum Committee.  With a background in medical sociology, social policy and criminology, my research broadly addresses patient and provider experiences of treatment for mental health issues. I am especially interested in the intersection of medicine, criminalisation and mental health. I also publish in medical education with a focus on the social and behavioural sciences as well as equality, diversity and intersectionality.

Samantha Mills

I am a medical student at the University of Southampton. This year I am currently intercalating, undertaking a Masters of Medical Science (MMedSci) degree. I have a background in qualitative research methods. My area of research this year is focused on exploring the staff and student perceptions of learning or working in the Faculty of Medicine within the context of race and ethnicity, with the view of making recommendations for improvement to senior faculty leadership. The project is overseen by an independent race equality advisory group, which I also co-chair.

I am also a research assistant to the University of Southampton’s equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) department currently assisting with the University’s Race Equality Charter (REC) Bronze submission. I hav been liaising with directors of programmes from across the university to collect data on modules that engage students in discussions on race, ethnicity and culture and am currently developing a coding framework to analyse responses.

Outside of my studies I am also the founder and chair of the medical students EDI committee and have been working very closely with the faculty to advocate for students from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds.

Jacquie Kelly

I’m Faculty Development Lead in Medical Education, organising educational training and support for academic and clinical teachers and I work with Sally on the Reverse Mentoring project. I am also a counsellor and, before joining the University, I worked with young people for thirty years in the voluntary sector and then in adolescent mental health in the NHS.

It has been brilliant to be part of the EDI education group over the last few years, and the group has been an ideal way to take forward the concerns and ideas which the reverse mentors and mentees identify together. The work of the group feeds into our staff development strategy and has informed some of our key training initiatives, although there is much more work to be done. The staff development team are always keen to hear ideas for ways we can develop our training and resources, to help make the Faculty a place where everyone belongs and can thrive.

Morgan Blake

Having felt so at home on campus after finishing my Undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences, I opted to stay on for the Post-Grad Medicine course. I’m now entering my final year and can truly say it’s been a wonderful six years. Through the people I’ve met in Southampton and the opportunities available, including my elective at the University of Auckland, I’ve been grateful to learn about a wide range of cultures and peoples. This sparked an interest to promote diversity at our school and within the teaching and student cohorts.

Initially this materialised in using my first-gen perspective to help put together guides on Imposter Syndrome and navigating student finance. In addition I was able to work with the BM4 team to content-map the curriculum and consider how LGBT+ materials could be better presented. Working with Sam and seeing her passion inspired me to take this further. I’m now working with InsideUni to put together a universal national guide for all medical students on finance; as well as with the Faculty to introduce a new EDI module which aims to prepare students for a medical career in the modern day where they will encounter a wide range of patients.

Promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in our curriculum, staffing and student cohorts is an area I feel very passionate about and I look forward to Southampton medical school being placed centre-stage for its efforts in this.