We have very limited visibility of queer leadership in pharmacy. Being a part of the committee feels like an important step in continuing to build a profile for LGBTQ+ patients and pharmacy professionals. It also means I have the opportunity to contribute to policy, education, and the development of the network in a way that feels meaningful alongside my other work, which admittedly is a lot less LGBTQ+ focused!
Something that always stands out to me was our slot on the agenda with the Pharmacy Schools Council and Health Education England at the Pharmacy Education Summit on EDI all the way back in 2022. Although it’s been a few years since the event, I felt as if this was a huge turning point in the recognition of the committee and helped to shape our advocacy in the years that followed, including the development of our Gender-Affirming Care Statement and LGBTQ+ educational resources.
Behind the scenes, the LGBT+ Committee do lots of brainstorming. I think others might sometimes forget these are voluntary roles that we all strive to fit in around our busy work and personal schedules. However, we’re constantly aiming to keep up to date on developments in policy, education, and health (as well as so much more) to ensure we can respond in the best interests of the profession and for our patients.
My top priorities for the committee right now are creating a more unified network where members feel they have an active voice in shaping the work we do and how we operate as a wider part of the PDA. We would love to work more collaboratively with members on their priorities, too. It’s important to recognise that you don’t need to be a member of the committee to contribute to the projects or publications that we produce through the network.
I’m writing this only a day after the release of the new EHRC Code of Practice, which we know will likely have a negative impact on trans and gender diverse patients and members of the profession. Without advocacy, representation, and action from LGBTQ+ members, we may continue to see the rolling back of rights and freedoms that our community deserves and have fought so for hard in recent history. In the space of a decade, the UK has moved from 1st place to 22nd out of 49 European countries in the ILGAs ranking of LGBTQIA+ rights. It’s now more critical than ever that organisations and individuals demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ equity in the face of harmful misinformation and targeted attacks on the community.
We have an open (digital) door policy and always welcome conversations from members either via the network communication channels or 1-1 with individuals on the committee. I’m very proud of the fact that the committee itself has consisted of pharmacy students (including a previous President and Secretary), foundation trainees, newly qualified pharmacists and even those in the advanced stage of practice. We therefore have a range of professional experience reflected at the committee level, but also a diversity of life experience. We have been able to support members with concerns around coming out at work, or through providing a safe space for disclosures and engagement with the network in an anonymous way that feels accessible to them.
Join our WhatsApp group, jump on the group calls, or turn up to one of our events! There’s lot of ways to engage and we always welcome fresh perspective and engagements, including at the committee level.
For LGBT+ members who are unsure about joining the network or reaching out, I would say do things at your own pace. The only expectation we have from members is that they behave in line with our agreed terms of use for the network’s communication channels. I’ve been lucky enough to be a member since the inception of the network, and a co-opted member since the founding of the committee and my major takeaway is, everyone is pretty lovely and engages in a way that works for them. Want to chat about your recent holiday? Fantastic! Want to discuss recent policy changes at work affecting LGBTQ+ patient? Equally fantastic. The network is designed to allow members to communicate when and how they feel is appropriate, which can also be not communicating at all and just enjoying from afar. Still unsure about getting involved in the work of the network? Feel free to reach out directly to a member of the committee for more information or an informal discussion about our network.
As a result of the committee’s work, we’ve seen an evolution in the PDA as an organisation and its focus on the EDI committees, not as a sole function, but as part of the wider unified organisation and our mission to improve equity for marginalised communities. It’s been great to see collaboration between the network and our committee become an established presence in conversations about LGBTQ+ education and policy at local, regional, and national levels.
Looking ahead, I’d love to see a more open channel of engagement where the network members feel empowered to engage in their own initiatives, with the support and input of the committee. It would be wonderful to one day see the network members being the driving force behind our advocacy and projects, with the committee at the core looking to facilitate and champion the work of the network members. Of course, one consistent aim is to ensure a diversity of voices within the network, but also on the committee. We’ve certainly seen a shift as members feel more comfortable and confident joining the committee, but as with most organisations and groups in the LGBTQ+ space, we can always be doing more to improve representation.
Dr Josh Wells (he/him) – Medical Adviser for Boehringer Ingelheim, Associate Academic for Kingston University, Vice President of the LGBT+ Network
APTUK’s Pharmacy Pride
On Friday 19 June, Josh will be speaking at APTUK’s Pharmacy Pride: Inclusive Leadership and Learning Series (PPILLS) on Queer Health in a Digital Era. Learn more and register here.
Get involved
- Join the PDA LGBT+ Network here.
- Follow the PDA LGBT+ Network on social media using the hashtag #PDAlgbt.
- Contact the PDA LGBT+ Network committee by emailing [email protected].
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists, and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
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