Patients to Peers: Barriers and Opportunities for Doctors with Disabilities

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Nevada Law Journal

Version

pre-publication

Journal Abbreviation

Nevada L.J.

Abstract

More than twenty years after Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to end disability-based discrimination, many U.S. medical schools will not give a seat to applicants with certain sensory or mobility disabilities. In some cases, the barriers to admission are explicit. They take the form of “Technical Standards” that define baseline qualifications for applicants. These standards typically include the ability “to speak, to hear and to observe patients” and make it clear that “the use of a trained intermediary is not acceptable.” They also make clear that the ability to use one’s hands for fine motor tasks and the ability to perform gross motor tasks with coordination and equilibrium are prerequisites for admission. Such Technical Standards deem most deaf, blind, and physically impaired applicants unqualified for admission to medical schools, despite their academic credentials and potential for success in several medical specialties.

This Article exposes the fact and origin of explicit barriers to medical school admission faced by people with sensory and motor impairments. It then argues that inclusion of persons with sensory and motor disabilities in medical schools – as students and teachers, not just as subjects and patients – is necessary not just as a matter of justice to applicants with disabilities, but also as an essential component of a medical system that respects persons with disabilities. Finally, it sets forth a road map for removing the barriers without compromising patient safety.

First Page

1

Last Page

28

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Comments

The page numbering for the pre-publication version of the article linked here differs from the final published article, which appeared on pp. 645-667.

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