Nothing About Us Without Us: Improving Representation of Disability in Medical School Curriculum Through Explicit Inclusion.

Abstract

Abstract: Medical school curricula across the United States fail to adequately prepare students to provide high-quality care to and advocate for patients with disabilities. To address this shortcoming at one large, urban medical school, the Curriculum Committee at Sidney Kimmel Medical College formed a taskforce of students and faculty to evaluate the degree and quality of disability representation in its undergraduate medical education curriculum. Taskforce members solicited input from five community members in various fields of disability advocacy to craft recommendations that reflected this community's vision for disability education in undergraduate medical education. Community partners suggested areas of focus including clinical skills, accessibility of healthcare facilities, awareness of intersectionality with other identities, acknowledgment of bias, and respect for the patient's autonomy via their "right to risk." The taskforce report to the curriculum committee included nine recommendations for curricular revision based on community partner suggestions, six of which were accepted and are being implemented into the curricular content for the class of 2026 and beyond. This novel approach to implementing curricular change could encourage other medical schools to evaluate their own curricula through the lens of disability and prompt curricular revision with the input of community partners with disabilities, students, and, faculty.