New BMJ issue highlights racial disparities in medicine

The BMJ is out with a new special issue that looks at racial disparities in the U.K. health care system. Here’s a sampling of what’s inside: 

• Specialty training: Physicians from minority backgrounds are less likely than white doctors to be deemed eligible for specialty training positions — 75% of white applicants were eligible for such jobs compared to 53% of those who were racial minorities. 
• Racism in U.K. medical schools: The BMJ surveyed all of the U.K.'s 40 public undergraduate medical schools and found that only half of the 32 that responded collect data on racism-related complaints from students. 
• New initiative: Based on the findings of the medical school survey, the British Medical Association is launching a charter that would, among other directives, have medical schools put in place policies aimed at improving diversity.