Medical Student Training on Disability

2022

Medical students receive little specific training on providing care to adults with developmental disabilities. With individuals with developmental disabilities living in all parts of our community and living longer, it is incumbent on medical colleges to teach students about developmentally disabled adults in their community -- concentrating on their lives, culture, history, as well as their medical needs. The goal of this project is ensure that medical students have the information, experiences and skills they need in order to provide caring and competent medical services to individuals with developmental and other disabilities. Using initial support from a WISH Foundation grant, the Sonoran UCEDD worked with the University fo Arizona College of Medicine to establish a AADMD student chapter (Medcats for Developmental Medicine). The chapter receives support form the UACOM student council as a student interest group, and sponsors: 1) a lunchtime seminar series for medical students on developmental medicine, 2) opportunities to deliver health promotion activities to Special Olympics athletes and Unified partners at local Special Olympics events. Additionally, Medcats student leaders have worked with Special Olympics Arizona to develop health promotion activities, have developed and implemented surveys of their peers about their interest in developmental medicine, and presented on their work at annual AADMD conferences. Medcats student leader shave also worked with UCEDD faculty to develop curricular projects in DM, and Dr. Tyler Kennedy (newly graduated) and Ms Jaqueline Hoffman (Class of 2021) are currently working with Drs. Tamsen Bassford and Lynne Tomasa on projects in the recently awarded UACOM NCIDM grant.

medical student training, curriculum

Training Trainees

Health-Related Activities

Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees)

Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Geographic Areas, Reservation, Rural/Remote, Urban

Single-County, Mulit-County, State

N/A