Disability Scoop recently published an article regarding a topic that the WITH Foundation is very passionate about. People with disabilities and their advocates are pushing for a requirement that all medical schools specifically train future doctors to treat people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Currently no training standard for the medical community exists.
Two proposals to establish a mandate as part of the standard curriculum that medical schools adhere to were rebuffed earlier this year by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), a group jointly sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association that accredits medical schools in the U.S. and Canada.
The committee, which is responsible for setting minimum curriculum standards, is now set to discuss a revised version of one of the recommendations sought by the National Council on Disability (NCD), at a meeting later this month.
Amged Soliman, attorney advisor for NCD, said research has shown that large numbers of doctors have never received training in caring for such patients, and many say they would benefit.
“Some providers incorrectly assume that people with disabilities don’t have a good quality of life or people with intellectual and developmental disabilities don’t experience pain,” Soliman said. “We think the recommendation we’re making could help rectify that.”
A call for basic principles of disability competent healthcare
The council has called for instructing students in “basic principles of disability competent healthcare.” Medical students would be required to demonstrate proper clinical practice skills and sensitivity, including respectful nomenclature, supported decision-making and knowledge of living arrangements that might affect compliance, according to letters sent by the National Council on Disability to the committee.
Donna Waechter, assistant LCME secretary, said in a statement that medical students are already required to learn to recognize and address disparities in health care, which include disability status. She said graduates must “exhibit general professional competencies that are appropriate for entry to the next stage of their training. As such, the LCME accreditation standards and associated elements are relatively broad.”
The accreditation committee first reviewed the NCD recommendation in February, along with a request spearheaded by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) to include developmental disabilities in undergraduate medical education.
After the meeting, LCME sent a letter to AUCD that said it’s up to medical schools to determine how specific topics, such as developmental disabilities, are covered.
“While the LCME agreed that developmental disabilities is an important area, LCME elements do not reach that level of specificity,” the letter said.
Advocates and physicians say they have been successful in helping medical schools develop and incorporate training on a voluntary basis, though the goal remains to see every graduating doctor prepared to treat patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Projects underway
The WITH Foundation has consistently supported such efforts, providing funding for the following projects:
The Health is for Everyone Action Team (HEAT), a multi-year project by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). During the program’s initial stages, AUCD developed and implemented developmental disability training standards for medical students, while integrating developmental disability content into continuing medical education offerings for current physicians.
Now people with disabilities are helping the program move forward with Turn up the Heat and are assisting with the development of the curricula tools and instructional design to support inclusion of DD in medical schools. By doing so, they are creating a better prepared physician workforce that is able to serve the communities and settings in which they will eventually practice. Principles of universal design will be integrated into the development of curricula resources to allow medical education programs to reach more diverse groups by removing barriers to learning.
A National Curriculum
This effort was championed by Dr. Matthew Holder of AADMD, and WITH is please to support it. Dr. Holder founded the National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine which is partnering with the 11 medical schools including Harvard, the University of Louisville and Georgetown.
“What we would hope to see is a long-term improvement in not only the ability of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to access care, but an improvement in the quality of care,” said Dr. Matthew Holder, “We know, for example, that by changing attitudes and at least having a willingness to see this population and not being intimidated, you won’t turn people away, or you won’t make it uncomfortable for them in your office so they go away.”
Physicians said even a small amount of training over four years of medical school could be instrumental in helping future doctors treat and communicate with patients who have disabilities.
Will LCME reconsider and agree include developmental disabilities in undergraduate medical education?
We’ll keep you posted!
WITH Foundation Vision Statement
We believe that every human being has the right to be treated with dignity. Our current healthcare system provides inadequate consideration for the needs of adults with developmental disabilities, and to neglect this population is in sharp contrast to accepted medical and ethical standards. However, we are confident that this injustice is both definable and surmountable with the result that every adult with a developmental disability will have access to appropriate healthcare options.
Mission Statement
The mission of WITH Foundation is to promote the establishment of comprehensive healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities that is designed to address their unique and fundamental needs.