The committee has done some excellent work on this guidance with the faith medical organisations. A lot of it was already in NHS England's uniforms guidance, the GMC's placement standards and the Medical Schools Council's guidance to schools. But this puts it all together for students, with template letters you can send if something goes wrong.
The BMA wants medical schools to change the following:
- Make medical schools faith inclusive. Med schools should train their staff on faith inclusivity, provide proper prayer facilities, and have a clear way to report faith-related discrimination, with support for you if it happens. If you have a problem practising your faith, you should get help straight away, and schools should work with faith societies, students and BMA reps to understand what you need. That goes for social life too, so you should have events that don't involve alcohol, and the events that do should have non-alcoholic options available.
- Accommodate religious observance without penalising students. Your school should make it clear you won't be penalised for absences for religious observance, including leaving early, and let you make up the time if you drop below the minimum. Exams could be moved, swapped for a different paper, or sat later under quarantine. And med schools should plan ahead for religious dates and, with your consent, record your requests, so it's less hassle for you.
- Make placements safe and supportive. Your school should tell placement providers what you need before you arrive, from prayer and dress to timetabling. It should sort out problems promptly and keep you updated, act on placement feedback, and make sure there are food options that meet faith requirements where appropriate.
During a 'prepare for placement' lecture in a lecture theatre with around 50 of my colleagues, for the first time as a medical student, I felt seen. The lecturer was discussing professionalism and began to talk about uniform policies at placements. She went through all the usual bits. Then also talked about religious exemptions. When she talked about the turban and the 5k's (the mandatory uniform of a practicing Sikh), I felt as though I would be safe.
What you can already ask for
Religion and belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland's own equality law covers religious belief too.
- Prayer breaks and space. The GMC's placement guidance says providers should give you access to facilities to observe your faith, including appropriate breaks. During teaching, recorded lectures or swapping teaching groups can help, although that won't always be possible.
- Religious dress. In England, NHS England's uniforms guidance permits religious headwear as long as patient care, safety, security and infection control aren't compromised. You can ask for your placement's local uniform policy before you go. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, NHS England's guidance doesn't apply, so ask your school for the placement's dress policy.
- The right equipment. You can ask for disposable sleeves and headwear, scrubs that fit and meet your modesty standards, and a respirator hood or powered respirator where needed, so you don't have to shave a religious beard.
- Time for religious observance. You can ask for changes to teaching, placements and assessments, and your request should be respectfully and reasonably considered and accommodated where possible. The more notice you give, the easier it is to plan. That includes permanent arrangements for Jummah, Shabbat and festivals, and flexibility during Ramadan.
- Consent in clinical skills. You can refuse to be physically examined by another student or a member of staff, or agree to take part without undressing, and that should be accepted without question. You'll still need to learn to examine patients of every gender.
If something goes wrong
Write down what happened as soon as you can, including dates, names and witnesses, and use your school's reporting route. On placement, raise it with your clinical supervisor and tell your school, and if the response isn't good enough, you can ask your school to escalate it. The guidance includes 2 template letters, one for raising dress code concerns with a placement supervisor and one for asking for prayer breaks.
How to support the campaign
If you want your med school to take these on, share the guidance with your school, your faith society and your BMA student rep, and ask your school how it plans to put the 3 calls in place, including with its placement providers. You can also ask whether it would work with students to write its own guidance for students of your faith, which the BMA suggests in the guidance.
Sources: BMA: Faith inclusivity for medical students: guidance for students and calls for action (23 September 2026), NHS England: Uniforms and workwear: guidance for NHS employers and Medical Schools Council: Active Inclusion, Challenging Exclusion: Supporting students of different faiths (2023)
