RANZCR Proudly Celebrates Sydney WorldPride 2023

The College is proud to officially celebrate Sydney WorldPride 2023 (17 February – 5 March) for the first time in support of safe, informed, inclusive and respectful health care for LGBTQIA+ patients while recognising our ever increasingly diverse workforce in clinical radiology and radiation oncology. This is aligned with the College’s ongoing commitment to improving health outcomes for all.

The College Coat of Arms shone in rainbow hues during the festival period, and our clinical radiologist, A/Prof Glen Lo and College staff, Melissa Doyle marched in sequined scrubs among sixty medical and health care professionals in the Pride in Medicine float at the 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and WorldPride Parade on 25 February.

Two years after COVID-19 forced the event to be relocated to the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras returned to Oxford street with 12,500 marchers from more than 200 floats, making it the biggest parade yet.

This is an important College initiative jointly made possible by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), Australian College of Rural Remote Medicine (ACRRM), The Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC), The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and many more.

The Pride in Medicine float featured three mobile ED assessment bays staffed by doctors in sequinned scrubs and drag queens, flanked by banners showing the participating colleges’ logos. Fifty marchers trailed behind in rainbow-coloured sequined scrubs and LED lights performing intermittent choreographed dance moves.

Clin A/Prof Sanjay Jeganathan, RANZCR President, said: “The LGBTQIA+ community is a minority that experiences disparities in health outcomes due to stigma, discrimination and denial of civil and human rights.”

Clinical radiologists and radiation oncologists will serve our patients well and with fairness if we reflect our wide diversity and give support to all our cultural constituents. The World Pride parade is more than a street celebration with colourful floats and flag-waving marchers. It’s our proud moment to demonstrate our willingness to advocate for the health of LGBTQIA+ people and indicate to medical students and junior doctors that we welcome and encourage them from the LGBTQIA+ community to become part of our professional community.

Duane Findley, RANZCR CEO, said:

RANZCR is honoured to join other medical colleges to present the Pride in Medicine float at the biggest LGBTQIA+ event in Sydney. It is the first time the College has displayed our official and public support for diversity and and inclusion, for our professions and for our patients. I strongly believe it will help forge a positive workplace culture for clinical radiology and radiation oncology professions that leads to safe, inclusive, equitable health care for all Australian patients, regardless of gender and sexuality.

Clin A/Prof Glen Lo, a clinical radiologist from WA, FRANZCR, commented:

I am excited to collaborate with the diverse representation of medical specialists, junior doctors and medical students from both Australia and Aotearoa NZ at this year’s Mardi Gras WorldPride Parade, representing RANZCR. I would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness that our professions are a critical, integral part of the health care system and to advocate for equitable access to healthcare in both countries.

Despite our diversity of experience and practice, we are equal and united in our support of our LGBTQIA+ patients, medical students and colleagues!