Reducing barriers in Canadian medical school admissions for students with disabilities

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Authors:

• Yasmin Dini (McMaster University) 
• Shira Gertsman (McMaster University)
• Devon Wilton (McMaster University)

Background: ​

1. Many disabilities do not impact the ability to practice medicine, and many trainees and doctors successfully remain in the profession after acquiring a disability during training or practice.
2. It is essential that people with disabilities are proportionately represented in medical education, both in the interest of disability rights and for the provision of better patient care.
3. Remediation of medical school admission policies to be inclusive of applicants with disabilities necessitates the improvement of accessibility within medical school.
4. Creating an environment within medical training that is amenable to students with disabilities will promote self-care and well-being among trainees of all abilities.
5. Transparency around policies regarding disability and accommodation during medical admissions and matriculation is essential in order to detect and confront discriminatory processes.
6. Lack of transparency regarding accommodations during interviews and medical school discourages students from proactively seeking out the accommodations that they need to protect their health and well-being.
7. Automatic disqualification of students due to failure to meet an arbitrary admissions requirement as a result of their disability is discriminatory and promotes an ableist culture within medicine.
8. Effective, sustainable barrier reduction requires formal data collection regarding the number of students who apply and are admitted to Ontario medical schools.
9. Data on the number of students with disabilities applying to and being offered acceptance at each Ontario medical school should be confidentially collected to determine discrepancies and evaluate success of barrier reduction.
10. The privacy of students with disabilities must be protected as personal health information.

Recommendations: 

• That Ontario’s medical schools create policies to ensure their admissions requirements do not disqualify or disfavor students based on characteristics that are the result of a disability.
• That the wording of technical standards required for the study of medicine be revised to clarify where alternatives may be considered if they cannot be performed with accommodations.
• That all admission committee members and interviewers undergo anti-ableist training.
• That medical schools in Ontario have publicly available resources for prospective applicants that detail the ways in which their programs are accessible to students with disabilities, including possible accommodations for interviews, preclerkship, and clerkship.
• That medical schools provide accommodations during interviews that match those available within medical school.
• That Ontario’s medical schools collect and report data on the population and experiences of applicants and medical students with disabilities applying to and studying at their institutions.
• That medical schools and adjacent organizations consult students with disabilities when constructing relevant policies.