Disability and Medical Education, part 2

The DEI Shift

Internal medicine physicians may have limited awareness of the challenges physicians face when disclosing their disabilities in the healthcare workplace. This knowledge gap could impact their ability to create supportive environments and adequately address the unique needs of their colleagues with disabilities, potentially hindering collaborative and inclusive medical practices. Additionally, Internal medicine physicians may lack sufficient awareness of the diverse prevalence and makeup of physicians with disabilities, particularly overlooking the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation within this demographic. This knowledge gap may lead to misconceptions and hinder efforts to promote a more inclusive and representative medical workforce. Closing this gap is essential for fostering diversity and addressing the unique needs of all physicians with disabilities.

Join The DEI Shift team for part 2 of their conversation with Dr. Lisa Meeks, a leader on disabilities in medical education and friend from the Docs with Disabilities podcast, which she founded and co-hosts. Dr. Meeks discusses the prevalence of disabilities across the training and career spectrum, the risks of disclosure that students and physicians with disabilities face, and the resources of which we should all be aware for ourselves and for those around us.

First, listen to the podcast. After listening, ACP members can take the CME/MOC quiz for free.

CME/MOC:

Up to 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™ and MOC Points
Expires November 03, 2027   active

Cost:

Free to Members

Format:

Podcasts and Audio Content

Product:

The DEI Shift

The DEI Shift's mission is to create a podcast series on diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.) in medicine that sparks discussion and provides practice-changing data and stories for a physician, student, allied health professional, and health care leader audience. Listeners will be able to gain useful information to improve their practices and environments, to gain empathy, cultural competency, and humility, and to learn more about emerging D.E.I. concepts. The DEI Shift will discuss issues related to gender, race, sexuality, religion, ability, socioeconomics, and so much more.

Host/Associate Producer: Dr. Candace Sprott

Guest: Dr. Lisa Meeks

Production Assistants: Dr. Erynn Beeson, Dr. Andrea Anampa-Guzmán, Sanika Walimbe

Learning Objectives:

  1. Investigate the prevalence of disabilities among physicians at different stages of their training and careers.
  2. Recognize some of the challenges and risks associated with disclosure of one’s disability.
  3. Build awareness of the repository of reliable resources on physicians with disabilities, disability access, accommodations, and stories that one can utilize for themselves and share with trainees with disabilities who are looking for resources.

[0:00 - 2:30] Picking up from Last Episode, Prevalence of Disabilities in Physicians 

  • Welcome and Re-introduction of Dr. Lisa Meeks by Dr. Candace Sprott
  • Discussion of Dr. Meeks’ JAMA network open paper
  • Insights into the prevalence of disabilities among physicians and why the prevalence decreases from the training continuum into attending-hood

[2:30 - 4:11] Risks of Disclosure

  • Students with disabilities face risks to their safety when they disclose their disability.

[4:11 - 11:24] Responsibility of Coming up with Accommodations

  • The burden of coming up with (and justifying their need for) accommodations is often placed on students with disabilities.
  • Many students are met with skepticism.
  • In some institutions, the ability of a student with a psychological disability to even become a physician is questioned the minute they disclose that diagnosis.

[11:24 - 14:50] Resources to Know are Available

  • Docs With Disabilities Podcast

[14:50 - 16:25] Additional Resources

[16:25 - 19:05] Allies vs Accomplices in Action

  • “Being an ally is great. … but to become an accomplice, to use your privilege, to challenge the existing conditions, the inaccessibility - that's powerful.”

[19:05 - 25:23] Closing Thoughts and Further Resources

  • When developing resources or events around disability awareness, don't forget to include people with disabilities in those conversations.
  • Dr. Justin Bullock: “‘Yourself in All Your Forms’: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Identity Safety in Medical Students”
  • Dr. Neera Jain: “Legibility: Knowing Disability in Medical Education Inclusion”
  • Closing by Dr. Candace Sprott

Credits:

Guest: Dr. Lisa Meeks

Host: Dr. Candace Sprott

Executive Producer: Dr. Tammy Lin

Co-Executive Producers: Dr. Pooja Jaeel, Dr. Maggie Kozman

Associate Producer: Dr. Candace Sprott

Senior Producer: Dr. DJ Gaines

Production Assistants: Dr. Erynn Beeson, Dr. Andrea Anampa-Guzmán, Sanika Walimbe

Website/Art Design: Ann Truong

Music: Chris Dingman https://www.chrisdingman.com

Disclaimer: The DEI Shift podcast and its guests provide general information and entertainment, but not medical advice. Before making any changes to your medical treatment or execution of your treatment plan, please consult with your doctor or personal medical team. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by The DEI Shift. The views expressed by guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by The DEI Shift team are those of each individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The DEI Shift team and its guests, employers, sponsors, or organizations we are affiliated with.

The DEI Shift podcast is proudly sponsored by the American College of Physicians Southern California Region III Chapter. 

The DEI Shift theme music is by Chris Dingman. Learn more at www.chrisdingman.com.

​ Twitter and Instagram @TheDEIshift, email at thedeishift@gmail.com, and our website www.thedeishift.com

Additional Resources

  1. Association of American Medical Colleges. Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. 2018. [Internet]. [cited 2024 Feb 3]. Available from: https://store.aamc.org/accessibility-inclusion-and-action-in-medical-education-lived-experiences-of-learners-and-physicians-with-disabilities.html
  2. Nouri Z, Dill MJ, Conrad SS, Moreland CJ, Meeks LM. Estimated Prevalence of US Physicians With Disabilities. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e211254. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1254. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Apr 1;4(4):e2110025. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2232194. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2777420
  3. Bullock JL, Sukhera J, Del Pino-Jones A, Dyster TG, Ilgen JS, Lockspeiser TM, Teunissen PW, Hauer KE. 'Yourself in all your forms': A grounded theory exploration of identity safety in medical students. Med Educ. 2023 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/medu.15174.

            https://asmepublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/medu.15174

  1. Petersen KH, Jain NR, Case B, Jain S, Meeks LM. Impact of USMLE Step-1 accommodation denial on US medical schools: A national survey. PLoS One. 2022 Apr 14;17(4):e0266685. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266685.

            https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266685

  1. Jain NR. Legibility: knowing disability in medical education inclusion. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2023 Jul 21. doi: 10.1007/s10459-023-10268-1

            https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10459-023-10268-1

  1. DocsWithDisabilities Podcast | Family Medicine | Michigan Medicine. 2019. Available from: https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/family-medicine/programs/mdisability/community-building/docswithdisabilities-podcast
  2. Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness (MSDCI) Community. Advocacy. Education.  https://msdci.org/
  3. Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SMADIE) https://med.stanford.edu/smadie.html

 

 

Contributors

Lisa Meeks, PhD - Guest

Pooja Jaeel, MD, ACP Member –  Co- executive producer

Maggie Kozman, MD, ACP Member – Co-executive producer

Tammy Lin, MD, MPH, FACP – Executive Producer

Candace Sprott, MD, FACP – Host, Associate Producer

Andrea Anampa-Guzmán, MD – Production Assistant

Erynn Beeson, MD – Production Assistant

Sanika Walimbe – Production Assistant

DJ Gaines, MD – Senior Producer

Reviewers

Ankita Sagar, MD, MPH, FACP

John Hall, MD, FACP

None of the contributors or reviewers for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.  All financial relationships have been mitigated.

Release Date:  November 4, 2024

Expiration Date: November 3, 2027

Accreditation Statements

CME Credit

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the American College of Physicians and the DEI Shift.  The American College of Physicians is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American College of Physicians designates each enduring material (podcast) for 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Points

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to .5 medical knowledge MOC Point in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.  Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

How to Claim CME Credit and MOC Points

After listening to the podcast, complete a brief survey and multiple-choice question quiz.  To claim CME credit and MOC points you must achieve a minimum passing score of 66%.  You may take the quiz multiple times to achieve a passing score.