Educational experiences of health professionals from marginalized groups: "It definitely takes more work".

Post-secondary institutions are increasingly promoting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in health professions education. Yet, institutions continue to be spaces of exclusion and marginalization for health professional students from marginalized groups. To explore the education experiences of health professionals from marginalized groups in Canada. We draw on a subset of data from a larger qualitative study examining experiences of health professionals who self-identify as disabled, working-class origin, racialized, ethnic minority, and/or minority sexual/gender identity (LGBTQ+). This analysis includes 35 participants from medicine, nursing, and occupational therapy. We identified five main themes: 1) isolation, being the "only one"; 2) normative curricula; 3) marginalization by classmates and instructors; 4) exclusionary social and cultural capital; and 5) coping strategies. Learners from marginalized groups are still experiencing marginalization in health professional education, despite institutional commitments to EDI. An overhaul of professional education is needed to address exclusionary processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]