Though nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability, health professionals and medical students with disabilities still encounter roadblocks throughout training and their careers. What are the ethical considerations that could initiate progress for health professionals and medical students with disabilities?
Take a moment and consider this situation: An elderly and esteemed surgeon needs assistance to safely complete his or her cases. How should his or her colleagues respond?
A. Report the surgeon to the licensure board
B. Bring the issue to the attention of the department chair
C. Confront the surgeon directly and privately
D. Place a call to the organization’s patient safety hotline
This is a challenging situation for any professional. Give your answer to this poll in the October issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics®. The October issue explores what “disability” means, how we can learn from physicians with disabilities and what medical schools can do to accommodate medical students with disabilities.
Articles featured in this issue include:
- “Perspectives on the Meaning of ‘Disability.’” Public policy changes have shifted the meaning of “disability” over time, protecting people with disabilities under civil rights law. The criteria for judging people to be disabled likewise fluctuate across social and cultural contexts. Investigate whether and when policy-level interventions and reasonable accommodations create equal opportunity.
- “Learning from Physicians with Disabilities and Their Patients.” How can medical schools revise institutional policies to increase the matriculation and graduation rates of medical students with disabilities? Find out how systematically gathering information on the needs and experiences of four distinct groups of individuals with disabilities could provide data leading to change.
- “Medical Schools’ Willingness to Accommodate Medical Students with Sensory and Physical Disabilities: Ethical Foundations of a Functional Challenge to ‘Organic’ Technical Standards.” Students with sensory and physical disabilities are underrepresented in medical schools despite the availability of assistive technologies and accommodations. Learn how considering the ethics of justice and beneficence could prompt change in this area.
In the journal’s October podcast, Louise Andrew, MD, JD, a fifth-generation physician attorney, discusses mental health challenges for physicians and medical students and recommends strategies for colleagues to intervene and assist.
Submit an article
The journal’s editorial focus is on commentaries and articles that offer practical advice and insights for medical students and physicians. Submit your work for publication.
