Leading Practices and Future Directions for Technical Standards in Medical Education

Abstract

Medical schools may vary in the specific manner in which they arrange for accommodations, determine eligibility, and deliver services to students with disabilities. Most institutions, however, follow similar procedures and guidelines for students to request academic and clinical accommodations. The following describes two protocols, representative of the way many schools handle such requests. We strongly encourage schools to assign the decision-making responsibility for disability accommodations to one designated person or office that includes a well-trained disability services counselor rather than relying on a faculty committee, for the reasons described below.

Creative Approaches to the Inclusion of Medical Students With Disabilities

“…This is no doubt sparked, in part, by the increased national and international focus on disability inclusion, and the sharing of personal accounts and successes by physicians, trainees and students with disabilities. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Jauregui and colleagues demonstrate the relative ease of inclusion when teams work together and are creative in their solutions for removing barriers. In this case, a student with a physical disability was faced with barriers in the environment that impacted his ability to take notes, and meet standard clinical requirements.…”

Master Series Microsurgery for Residents: Results from a Comprehensive Survey of a Multitudinous Online Course during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…between education centers and experts that without telecommunication would not be possible. 6 The advantages of virtual learning tools have been previously reported: the access to information is available despite geographic barriers, teaching is offered by experts from all over the world, both educators and learner demonstrate unprecedented flexibility; didactic lectures are frequently recorded accommodating those unable to attend, and learning objectives are often clearly defined. 7 Although many faculty have emphasized the irreplaceable value of attending in-person classes, lauding the real-time feedback, 1 the quarantine has favored a new window of opportunities.…”

Global commitments to disability inclusion in health professions

“…Medical schools are beginning to consider students with disabilities as a constituent part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda, and several organisations and academic leaders from around the world are now offering formal guidance to medical schools, with the goal of fully realising the value that people with disabilities bring to medical education. [6][7][8][9] We share The Lancet's commitment to promoting diversity in medicine 10,11 and concerns about the structural biases that negatively impact patient care. Health-care disparities for patients with disabilities are universal, and while efforts towards inclusion of more health-care providers with disabilities have been made, there is a global under-representation of clinicians with disabilities (appendix).…”

“…Health professions programmes could reassess the criteria by which they evaluate applicants for admission to focus on the core skills and perspectives that are vital for competent care. 14,15 Medical schools and their affiliated clinical institutions must be able to determine and provide, with appropriate support, the optimal reasonable accommodations or adjustments for equal access to the curriculum, while ensuring competence for health professions practice. Changes to institutional culture are needed to ensure that all students and health-care providers are able to practise in inclusive environments.…”