Institutional Accountability for Students With Disabilities: A Call for Liaison Committee on Medical Education Action

Abstract

Medical educators and leaders have called for greater diversity among the physician workforce, including those with disabilities. However, many students with disabilities are precluded from entering and completing medical training due to historically restrictive technical standards and poor internal practices to protect student privacy. This limits the possibilities for growing this part of the workforce and making progress toward the ultimate goal of having a physician workforce that better represents the patients it serves. To achieve diversity among the physician workforce, medical education must create environments that allow students with disabilities to apply to, flourish in, and feel well supported in medical school. Recent additions to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements have helped to catalyze work in the area of disability inclusion by incorporating disability-focused mandates into graduate medical education accreditation standards. However, similar mandates for undergraduate medical education have not yet materialized. In this article, the authors call for the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) to elevate disability as a valued part of medical school diversity in its accreditation standards and to include protections for disabled students. The authors propose that the LCME can take 5 actions to promote institutional accountability toward students with disabilities: (1) define disability as diversity, (2) mandate disability support, (3) protect from conflicts of interest, (4) protect privacy, and (5) verify schools’ technical standards comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. By adopting these recommendations, the LCME would send the powerful message that students with disabilities bring welcome expertise and value to the medical community.

Technical Standards from Newly Established Medical Schools: A Review of Disability Inclusive Practices

“…The implications are far-reaching for a population that represents 20% of the US population yet only 4.6% of US-MD and 4.27% of US-DO medical students. 34 , 35 Oversight by accrediting agencies may be necessary to drive change in this area, 36 including a set of LCME- and COCA-driven exemplar technical standards that reflect current technological advancements in assistive technology and inclusion language and concurrent verification from accrediting bodies that the technical standards comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.…”

Barriers in Medical Education: A Scoping Review of Common Themes for Medical Students With Disabilities

“…Medical school stakeholders can support students and practicing physicians with physical disabilities by using creative approaches to clinical work (15). Acceptance can be achieved by not promoting ideology but, preferably, making systemic changes to create better opportunities and sustain individuals with disabilities to pursue careers in medicine (15).…”

“…Medical school stakeholders can support students and practicing physicians with physical disabilities by using creative approaches to clinical work (15). Acceptance can be achieved by not promoting ideology but, preferably, making systemic changes to create better opportunities and sustain individuals with disabilities to pursue careers in medicine (15). From a student services perspective, a collaborative approach that facilitates access to the program normalizes a student with deafness presence and contributes to an inclusive and non-marginalizing experience is exceptionally appropriate in this situation (10).…”

“…Because of the absence of medical literature in this eld, physicians and medical students with disabilities should be encouraged to document their own experiences and practice strategies to develop successful models (1). The stigma around disclosing disabilities is still prominent yet providing anonymous spaces more self-disclosure if shown to occur (15). Such documentation would help medical educators construct plans and modi cations to address barriers facing medical students with disabilities (1).…”

“…Such documentation would help medical educators construct plans and modi cations to address barriers facing medical students with disabilities (1). Transparent policies around disability disclosure can be produced to allow students to safely request accommodations without fear of stigma (15).…”