Title
Competency-Based Curriculum Development to Meet the Needs of People With Disabilities: A Call to Action
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation
Publication Date
2019-06-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Medical Education
Abstract
People with disabilities constitute 22.2% of the population in the United States, and virtually all physicians have people with disabilities in their clinical practice across a wide range of diagnostic groups. However, studies demonstrate that people with disabilities are inadequately served by the health care system, leading to high costs and poor outcomes. The authors argue that one cause of this discrepancy is that medical students receive limited training in the care of people with disabilities and may therefore not be able to adequately meet the competencies that underlie the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency. To address these gaps, the authors present practical examples of integrating concepts of disability into the curriculum with minimal additional time requirements. A comprehensive disability curriculum is suggested to include active classroom learning, clinical, and community-based experiences. At institutions that do not have a comprehensive curriculum, the authors recommend adding disability-related knowledge and skill acquisition to existing curricula through modifications to current case-based learning, simulated patients, and objective structured clinical examinations. To facilitate curriculum development, they recommend that the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health be used as a tool to build disability concepts into active learning. The goal of these recommended curricular changes is to enhance student performance in the clinical management of people with disabilities and to better train all future physicians in the care of this population.
Keywords
physicians, medical education, people with disabilities
DOI of Published Version
10.1097/ACM.0000000000002686
Source
Acad Med. 2019 Jun;94(6):781-788. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002686. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Related Resources
PubMed ID
30844926
Repository Citation
Ankam NS, Bosques G, Sauter C, Stiens S, Therattil M, Williams FH, Atkins CC, Mayer RS. (2019). Competency-Based Curriculum Development to Meet the Needs of People With Disabilities: A Call to Action. Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation Publications and Presentations. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002686. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/ortho_pp/195