UConn Disabilities Interest Group

04/18/2022

Braille written on a bar overlooking Naples that details the scenery. ☀️ Access isn’t just about public services.

03/03/2022

Written by Sandy Carpenter, former DIG co-president

Over 55,000 adults in Connecticut have mobility disability.

10/25/2021

A Willimantic woman who uses a wheelchair says the state is refusing to pay for a robotic arm that would help her maintain her independence while

10/22/2021

Call to action for all medical Students and healthcare trainees. We are ‘Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness’ (MSDCI), a national student disability organization composed of medical students.

MSDCI welcomes students with disability and/or chronic illness and their allies to advocate for increased disability representation in medicine. (Learn more: www. msdci.org)

More than 60 million Americans have disabilities, or about 1 in 4 people! Students have disabilities too, although they are underrepresented in the health sciences.

Physicians of all specialties treat patients with disabilities, but a wealth of research shows that most are inexperienced and/or feel uncomfortable working with this population. There is a gap in our training!

Did you know that the lack of disability training in medical education is a significant barrier to quality healthcare for people with disabilities and contributes to health disparities?

Research suggests less than 25% of medical schools offer any disability-focused training, and the sparse training that does exist is variable and piecemeal.

Yet we know that people with disabilities experience health inequities, such as higher rates of preventable secondary conditions and lower rates of screening tests.

The reasons are multifactorial; the barriers include provider attitudes, lack of knowledge and training, and inaccessible medical facilities, equipment, and services.

The poor health of people with disabilities in the U.S. is an important problem, and COVID-19 has exacerbated the disparities. We are calling on healthcare trainees around the country!

The absence of disability training in medical education is a human rights and social justice issue that jeopardizes the health of the largest minority in the U.S. What can we do about this critical issue?

Previously, the National Council on Disability wrote to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), accrediting body for allopathic medical schools, asking for the specific incorporation of disability into the standards of accreditation.

But the curricular standards for accreditation still do not explicitly include education on disability.

This education should include: communicating with patients who have disabilities, performing a physical exam, learning about the disability laws, promoting accessible practice, using accessible equipment, etc.

MSDCI has written a letter to the LCME advocating for specific changes to the language of their curricular standards that would include disability. Read the letter HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IzJLmppv1MOvuNGsRxkjWF8yfEUJETCC/view?usp=sharing

In support of the letter, we invite medical students, providers, and all other healthcare trainees or professionals to SIGN THIS PETITION which will accompany the letter: ​https://forms.gle/13yvjyurDp7VYQ328

The letter has received endorsements from notable disability organizations, including Society for Physicians with Disabilities and Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education.

MSDCI needs YOUR help in supporting the letter. Please share with your community, student body, and friends. Send questions to: msdcinational@gmail.com

In Support of Increased Disability Training in Medical Education This letter is endorsed by: Society of Physicians with Disabilities; Dr. Lisa Meeks, PhD; Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education; Citizens Coalition for Equal Access Number of Signatures: 298 PDF version: https://d...

10/02/2021

Representation in the media is so important! Love to see mainstream TV characters based on real people with disabilities and played by people with disabilities! :D

Actor George Robinson breaks down the taboos surrounding disability and s*x in Netflix series S*x Education.

10/01/2021

Disabled women now get pregnant and give birth at the same rate as nondisabled ones, but by virtually every measure, modern medicine has turned its back on them.

09/23/2021

The University of Connecticut School of Medicine today announced the first and only Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Residency in Connecticut created in partnership with Hartford Hospital, Ga***rd Hospital, and UConn Health.

09/19/2021

UConn DIG is a chapter of the national organization 'Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness' (MSDCI).

MSDCI has written a letter to the Liaison Committee for Medical Education, the accrediting body of allopathic medical schools, advocating for the incorporation of disability training into their standards of accreditation. We are seeking signatures of support for the letter!

Read the letter HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IzJLmppv1MOvuNGsRxkjWF8yfEUJETCC/view?usp=sharing

Sign HERE to indicate your support of the letter: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdftugmP4DX0HzgbncIBlo9axoDBlDU-yrTUlRlbJdRkfq3UA/viewform

In Support of Increased Disability Training in Medical Education This letter is endorsed by: Society of Physicians with Disabilities, Dr. Lisa Meeks, PhD Number of Signatures: 7 PDF version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IzJLmppv1MOvuNGsRxkjWF8yfEUJETCC/view?usp=sharing Medical Students with Disa...

09/04/2021

October calendar!
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and DIG's month of fundraising!
This year we will be fundraising to benefit the High Hopes horse riding camps! https://highhopestr.org/programs/summer-programs/

09/04/2021

Fall newsletter - see what's happening!

08/29/2021

The COVID-19 era exposes what was already a crisis in the medical profession: structural racism, ageism, s*xism, classism, and ableism resulting in healthcare disparities for Persons with Disabilities (PWD). Early research highlights these disparitie