Students as Advocates for the Integration of Disability Curricula in Medical Education

Abstract

To the Editor: The quality and safety movement has brought necessary attention to health systems science as a third pillar of medical training alongside the basic and clinical sciences. The American Medical Association's health systems science framework 1 includes advocacy as a key health care process, underscoring the need for physicians to advocate for patients by improving access to care, using community and governmental resources, addressing health disparities, and influencing health policy. However, undergraduate medical education curricula have limited capacity for additional advocacy training. Student-run extracurricular organizations, such as Vanderbilt University School of Medicine's Social Mission Committee, provide an opportunity to fill this gap. The goal of the Social Mission Committee is to advance the social mission of our medical school by empowering students, faculty, and staff to actively partner with our communities to achieve health equity.

Trainees Are Change Agents: An Introduction to This Year’s Trainee-Authored Letters to the Editor

“…28 And medical students at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine have recommended 3 actionable steps at their institution to integrate disability inclusion and representation into the medical curriculum. 29 Trainees' Beneficial Influence on the Culture of Medicine…”

An Interprofessional Approach to Disability Advocacy

“…We read with interest Benedetto and Carpenter’s letter detailing the importance of addressing the lack of disability education in medical school curricula. 1 As trainees, we are in a prime position to build community partnerships and facilitate opportunities to improve our cultural humility in caring for patients with disabilities. We make the case for an interprofessional approach to enhance exposure to disability in education.…”