155 - Improving Disability Education for Medical Students through a Disability Justice Elective

Objectives: To develop, implement and assess a new disability justice elective for medical students focused on the disability experience

Design: We performed a targeted needs assessment including curriculum mapping and interviews with community members with disabilities to identify topics they thought were most important to teach medical students. Course and session learning objectives were developed based on gaps in the curriculum and identified themes from our interviews. Medical students then participated in five 2-hour sessions on disability justice, the disability experience, and how physicians can provide affirming, anti-ableist care for people with disabilities (PWD). Session topics included: history of disability and policy, disability identity and culture, misconceptions and ableism, health disparities, and advocacy for PWD. Students completed 11 item pre- and post-course surveys to assess student confidence in each course learning objective on a 5-point Likert scale, with opportunities to identify their main takeaways from the elective.

Results: This elective course, titled Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)-Minded for Disability, was developed and implemented with a team of faculty, residents, and medical students with an interest in disability medicine. Learning objectives included understanding health policy and disparities, understanding disability identity, identifying barriers and social injustices, and advocating for PWD. 6 first- and second-year medical students enrolled in the course. All enrollees completed the pre- and post-course surveys, with improvements noted across all 11 items assessed. Major student-identified takeaways included understanding different models of disability, identifying barriers to care for PWD, and understanding the importance of disability advocacy in the community.

Conclusions: Disability justice curricula such as the elective course created for first and second-year medical students improve student confidence interacting with PWD, understanding health disparities, and developing advocacy skills. By enhancing medical student knowledge of disability, we can lay the foundation for improving health care for PWD.