A Student’s Perspective: Medical Education on Caring for Patients of All Abilities

disability health • medical education • inclusive education • patients of all abilities • ability level • disability • pre-clinical • inclusion • attitudes • medical model of disability • health disparities • patient-centered careTh e experience of evaluating a patient with a neurocognitive disability during an early clinical rotation truly stands out in my mind as one of the least prepared moments of my life.Th e pediatrics team I was rotating with as a part of my inpatient clerkship during my second year of medical school was notifi ed of a patient in the emergency department.Th e patient was a young man with cerebral palsy who did not use verbal language to communicate, and I was tasked with gathering information pertinent to the patient's admission into the hospital.Without much time to think or prepare, the senior resident and I were on our way to see the patient.I had made the trip down the elevator to see patients many times before, clipboard in hand and stethoscope on my neck, but this time, questions swirled in my head about what to do during the encounter.Do I direct my questions toward the patient?Or to a caregiver if they are present?What if he isn't very interactive with me?How do I pivot?How should I go about performing a physical exam on him?What if I off end the patient?I tried to refl ect on prior education I had received on patient encounters and realized that I was simply unprepared.I had no training to fall back on for this situation.Within minutes, I was standing in front of the patient and his mother.Without hesitation and after a very brief introduction, I began taking a history as I had been taught in my hundreds of hours of clinical courses and instruction from my preceptors.Before long, I could feel the tension build as I awkwardly and rapidly bounced between topics and who I was directing my questions toward in that moment.My anxiety continued to rise, my mind blurred, and after just a few minutes, I could not think of anything else to say even though I had hardly gathered any necessary information.Th e patient's mother looked at me with concern.She was rightfully worried that her son was in the hands of a vastly underprepared student.Th e resident, observing my discomfort and struggle, stepped in and fi nished the encounter.I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I was unable to off er more in this moment.