Celebrating LGBT History Month 2023

We have celebrated LGBT history month throughout February.

We’ve posted powerful blogs on lived experiences including from Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Julie Morgan, who answers the question: What is it like to be a gay female pharmacist? Chris Cutts, Regional Director at Health Education England North West has explained why visible LGBTQIA+ leadership makes a difference and Ross, a community and locum pharmacist has written a moving testimony about becoming a trans man.

At our ABCD meeting this month we were joined by four fantastic speakers:

• Nathan Burley, President of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP), talked about his experience as a public health and sexual health specialist pharmacist, with a particular focus on gender services and trans healthcare.
• Adam Rathbone, Lecturer in Social and Clinical Pharmacy, shared an update from the PrEP Now workshop he chaired in July to discuss how access to PrEP can be made easier across all vulnerable groups.
• Maddy Chan, a Clinical Rotational Pharmacist, shared the views of LGBTQ+ colleagues and what more we can do to support LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace.
• There was an open and insightful discussion about how LGBTQ+ individuals can be better supported in the profession including the lack of LGBTQIA+ education in the curriculum for pharmacists. This is one of the key actions that the group will be taking forward.

On social media, our museum asked the profession to donate LGBTQIA+ materials to grow its collection to tell the stories that were marginalised in the past. We also collaborated with the BPSA looking back at the history of Pride across the globe.

Our Head of Professional Belonging, Aman Doll, hosted a live stream with Adam Rutherford and Nicola Wake about considering adoption in pharmacy.

We also promoted our resources on how you can tackle discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people in your workplace and our guide to LGBTQIA+ related microaggressions.

Whilst there is much to celebrate, there is still more to do. We have created an LGBTQI+ reference group to help us address the lack of visibility and representation in pharmacy. Join us and help create action. Get in touch via [email protected].

Read more RPS blogs.