Understanding medical students' attitudes towards and experiences with persons with disabilities and disability education

Chardavoyne, Paige C.; Henry, April M.; Forté, Karin Sprow

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101267

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Some medical students have disclosed disability for the purposes of countering stigma and ableist conceptions within medical education, thereby aiming to shift the view of the medical profession away from the traditional biomedical view of disability as a pathology, impairment or dysfunction to a social model focused on mitigating barriers and improving capabilities of PWD (48,49). Physician bias and lack of physician knowledge regarding the needs of LGBTQ2S+ and PWD populations contribute to suboptimal health care (2,3,(50)(51)(52)(53)(54). Consequently, there have been growing calls for conscientious efforts to increase the recruitment of sexual URM and PWD populations into the physician workforce, since education about LGBTQ2S+ and PWD healthcare needs through near-peer experiences in a medical school class potentially may improve medical students' comfort and attitudes about caring for these populations (48,50).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies For Enhancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medical School Admissions–A Canadian Medical School's Journey

Joy

2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundMedical schools aim to select and train future physicians representative of and able to serve their diverse population needs. Enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in admissions processes includes identifying and mitigating barriers for those underrepresented in medicine (URM).Summary of InnovationsIn 2017, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (Western University, Ontario, Canada) critically reviewed its general Admissions pathways for the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program. Till that time, interview invitations were primarily based on academic metrics rather than a holistic review as for its Indigenous MD Admissions pathway. To help diversify the Canadian physician workforce, Schulich Medicine utilized a multipronged approach with five key changes implemented over 2 years into the general MD Admissions pathways: 1. A voluntary applicant diversity survey (race, socioeconomic status, and community size) to examine potential barriers within the Admissions process; 2. Diversification of the admissions committee and evaluator pool with the inclusion of an Equity Representative on the admissions committee; 3. A biosketch for applicants' life experiences; 4. Implicit bias awareness training for Committee members, file reviewers and interviewers; and 5. A specific pathway for applicants with financial, sociocultural, and medical barriers (termed ACCESS pathway). Diversity data before (Class of 2022) vs. after (Class of 2024) these initiatives and of the applicant pool vs. admitted class were examined.ConclusionFor the Class of 2024, the percentage of admitted racialized students (55.2%), those with socioeconomic challenges (32.3%), and those from remote/rural/small town communities (18.6%) reflected applicant pool demographics (52.8, 29.9, and 17.2%, respectively). Additionally, 5.3% (vs. 5.6% applicant pool) of admitted students had applied through ACCESS. These data suggest that barriers within the admissions process for these URM populations were potentially mitigated by these initiatives. The initiatives broadly improved representation of racialized students, LGBTQ2S+, and those with disability with statistically significant increases in representation of those with socioeconomic challenges (32.3 vs. 19.3%, p = 0.04), and those with language diversity (42.1 vs. 35.0%, p = 0.04). Thus, these changes within the general MD admissions pathways will help diversify the future Canadian physician workforce and inform future initiatives to address health equity and social accountability within Canada.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies For Enhancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medical School Admissions–A Canadian Medical School's Journey

Joy

2022

Front. Public Health

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“…[12][13][14] In a small survey study in 2022, 80% of medical students felt that they had inadequate disability education. 15 Consequently, this may account for the negative biases that physicians and other healthcare providers hold toward PWD, 16,17 including the belief that PWD have lower quality of life than persons without disabilities. 11 Barriers to care are a significant issue for the PWD population, 18,19 with the above biases contributing to the persistent healthcare disparities experienced by PWD.…”

Section: What Is Newmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This fundamental gap between the known need for such education and the lack of it renders most medical students underprepared for interactions with PWD as physicians 12–14 . In a small survey study in 2022, 80% of medical students felt that they had inadequate disability education 15 . Consequently, this may account for the negative biases that physicians and other healthcare providers hold toward PWD, 16,17 including the belief that PWD have lower quality of life than persons without disabilities 11 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Sustained Impact of a Virtual Disability Education Curriculum With Fourth-Year Medical Students in a Mandatory Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clerkship

Hartsgrove

Delauter²,

Kirshblum

2023

Am J Phys Med Rehabil

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Objective The aim of the study was to measure the short- and long-term impact of a virtual disability education curriculum associated with a 2-wk mandatory physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkship for fourth-year medical students. Design A prospective pre-post intervention survey-based study measuring the impact of a virtual disability education series at 1-wk and 6-mo time points after a mandatory physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkship including 8 hrs of virtual didactics with an emphasis on physical disabilities. The surveys assessed the overall virtual curriculum, perceived benefit of a virtual encounter, and the long-term applicability of the information learned from the clerkship. Results The physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkship was effective in improving medical students’ perceived comfort and clinical knowledge regarding treatment of persons with disabilities (P < 0.01). There were no statistical differences at the 6-mo time point, indicating sustained benefit and integration of knowledge in the long term (P > 0.05). In addition, 84% of students reported using the information in clinical experiences at 6 mos. Conclusions The physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkship including a virtual disability education curriculum improved long-term perceived medical student comfort and knowledge of treating persons with disabilities, with a focus on those with physical disabilities. Virtual encounters with persons with disabilities are viable and impactful avenues to provide this education.

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“…[6][7][8] Regarding the limited existing curriculum, inclusion of disability content does not necessarily correlate with medical student satisfaction nor increased comfort caring for patients with disabilities compared with nondisabled patients, suggesting that existing curricula could be improved. 8 Disability curricula have led to short-and long-term improvements in disability knowledge and attitudes, respectively, for PM&R residents. 2 This suggests the possibility of replicating similar findings at the undergraduate medical education level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Disability and Anti-Ableist Healthcare: A Pilot, Student-Led Module for Preclinical Medical Students

Smeltz,

Carpenter,

Benedetto

et al. 2024

Am J Phys Med Rehabil

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Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians often care for disabled patients, who comprise America’s largest marginalized population. Despite medical students’ and physicians’ discomfort with caring for disabled patients and the pervasiveness of ableism in healthcare, medical education lacks disability-focused education. Kern’s approach to curriculum development and disability community input were used to design a three-part, elective curriculum for first-year medical students. Part one introduced disability models and language. Part two described how to perform a comprehensive history and physical exam for a disabled patient utilizing ADEPT-CARE. Part 3 provided an overview of disability history and the disability rights movement. The curriculum’s goal was to improve students’ attitudes regarding disability health and self-perceived knowledge and confidence in caring for patients with disabilities. The curriculum was evaluated through pre- and post-surveys. Students favorably reviewed the curriculum. 100% of students (n = 21) agreed or strongly agreed that the curriculum improved their knowledge of disability health, increased their perceived confidence in caring for patients with disabilities, and enhanced their medical education. There were no statistically significant differences in students’ attitudes towards patients with disabilities after curriculum completion. Our asynchronous module provides one potential curriculum for increasing pre-clinical medical students’ self-perceived knowledge of disability health.

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Understanding medical students' attitudes towards and experiences with persons with disabilities and disability education

Cited by 17 publications

References 23 publications

Strategies For Enhancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medical School Admissions–A Canadian Medical School's Journey

Strategies For Enhancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medical School Admissions–A Canadian Medical School's Journey

Sustained Impact of a Virtual Disability Education Curriculum With Fourth-Year Medical Students in a Mandatory Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clerkship

Introduction to Disability and Anti-Ableist Healthcare: A Pilot, Student-Led Module for Preclinical Medical Students

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