Scott Rutherford (he/they) is currently at the end of their fourth year MPharm degree at the University of Manchester. They’re President of the PDA LGBT+ Network, and Student and Trainee Representative to the National Executive Committee of the PDA.

Scott is passionate about bringing inclusivity to the pharmacy profession and is excited to see a change in the future for their LGBT+ colleagues and future students. We caught up with Scott to hear about their experience being part of the LGBT+ community whilst studying pharmacy and how the PDA’s LGBT+ Network is helping those in the community.

Can you tell us what motivated you to join the PDA LGBT+ Pharmacists’ Network

To my knowledge, the PDA LGBT+ Network was, and still is, the only group within the UK’s pharmacy profession solely for LGBT+ MPharm students, trainee pharmacists, and registered pharmacists, and their allies. As a result, the Network seemed like a good way to meet queer people in pharmacy, and gain a perspective as to what it was like to be LGBT+ and a pharmacist.

Once I joined, it soon became apparent that the potential of the Network reached far beyond networking; it was an opportunity to share positive and negative experiences, raise awareness of LGBT+ health inequalities, and work towards enacting change.

In your experience as part of the LGBT+ community, what are the challenges facing pharmacy students?

University has undoubtedly catalysed the development of my queer identity. However, in addition to the relentlessly intense four years of studying, pharmacy students belonging to minority groups face additional challenges.

From Freshers’ week onwards, LGBT+ students are forced to evaluate every space and encounter to identify where it is safe to be ‘out’ and be themselves. We accept that we will be treated differently, subtly or overtly. We accept that we may not fit into any particular friendship groups, that we may be somebody’s punchline, and that we may be taken less seriously than others. Further to this, it is rare that we are represented within our learning.

Considering these challenges, what can universities, employers, and individuals do to support pharmacy students and prospective trainees who are part of the LGBT+ community?

Tolerance is not enough. Who wants to be tolerated? Our identities should be celebrated, accepted as they are, and appreciated, not just put up with.

With anti-LGBT+ hate crimes soaring and a culture war with regards to trans rights raging, it does not suffice to stay quiet or complacent. Individuals and institutions must be loud and clear in their allyship; listen to us, give us a voice, represent us, and vocalise your solidarity.

The education of future pharmacy professionals must be LGBT+ inclusive, as is the basis of the #LGBTplusMPharm campaign. Further to this, current pharmacy professionals must educate themselves about what it means to be LGBT+, the inequalities the community faces, and their role in alleviating these inequalities.