Disabled medical students get help from the GMC

Medical schools are to receive updated guidance to ensure that disabled students do not face unnecessary barriers in pursuing a medical career.

Research has found that disabled students are under-represented in medical schools; in 2009, less than six per cent of medical students declared a disability¹ compared to 19% of working-age adults in the UK².

The General Medical Council has worked closely with representatives of medical schools and disability experts to review its guidance, Gateways to the Professions: Advising medical schools, encouraging disabled students, to improve the support available for disabled students wishing to access medical education.

The revised guidance incorporates certain requirements set out in Tomorrow’s Doctors (2009), the GMC’s guidance which sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours that students must learn at medical school and how schools should educate and support students.  It also reflects changes introduced by the new Equality Act 2010 and highlights examples of reasonable adjustments put in place by medical schools.

The Gateways guidance has been very successful. Many medical schools are leading by example and already making reasonable adjustments to equipment, physical environments and teaching and learning. These include stethoscopes linked to display screens, enhanced lighting to facilitate lip reading, written materials being available in audio format and extra time in written or oral exams.

Following its initial launch in 2008, the University of Aberdeen has introduced a new admissions procedure which gives all medical applicants and students access to occupational health services. This helps to identify the need for any reasonable adjustments for students as well as assess any potential risk to patients.

Professor Jim McKillop, Chair of the GMC Undergraduate Board and a member of the working group which reviewed the guidance, said:

“It is really encouraging to see more individuals with a disability seeking entrance to medical school and schools making appropriate adjustments to accommodate their needs, as for many years unnecessary barriers have stopped them from pursing a medical career.

“Diversity in the medical profession is clearly beneficial to individuals, patients and the profession itself and there is no reason why, with the help of reasonable adjustments, more disabled students should not be able to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and abilities through a medical career.”

Benet Middleton, Chief Executive at Skill, the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, said:

“Gateways provides essential guidance for disabled people thinking about going into medicine, and for medical schools. It comes at just the right time, highlighting as it does, the stronger provisions of the new Equality Act. It also includes some very helpful and practical case studies showing how reasonable adjustments can make a big difference to disabled students wishing to pursue a medical career.”

The guidance is aimed primarily at medical schools, but is also useful for disabled students and those thinking of applying to medical school. The revised guidance, Advising medical schools: encouraging disabled students, can be viewed at: http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/undergraduate/gateways_guidance.asp