Frequently asked questions
- Is this project directed at disabled medical students and disabled doctors?
- Isn't disability equality taught in healthcare training already?
- Who else is doing similar work?
- How will the teaching be done?
- What professions within healthcare does the project address?
- How are disabled people involved in the project?
- How will findings be disseminated?
- What is Disability Equality Training?
- How can I get involved?
Is this project directed at disabled medical students and disabled doctors?
No, not directly. The project is about training healthcare workers, the majority of whom are non-disabled, to work more effectively with disabled people as patients and service users. However, raising awareness of disability equality within healthcare will also, hopefully, contribute to increasing the number of disabled people who become healthcare professionals.
Isn't disability equality taught in healthcare training already?
Disability equality as a separate subject area within healthcare training is rare. Instead, each impairment is studied within its own clinical area. For instance a medical student would learn about deafness as part of their ear, nose and throat training. Having disability equality as a separate course provides students with a social and cultural context for disability and enables them to consider the needs of disabled people more holistically, beyond impairment-specific boundaries.
Who else is doing similar work?
We suspect that there may be other people doing good work in isolation, but to the best of our knowledge there is no one tackling this issue strategically. However, if you know of other examples of good practice, please get in touch and let us know as we are keen to learn from other projects.
How will the teaching be done?
The starting point for this project is the disability equality teaching currently given to medical students at the University of Bristol. Here, disabled people are both tutors and examiners and the new curriculum framework will be predicated on this being the case.
If you are disabled and would be interested in finding out about opportunities to be a tutor or assessor, please get in touch.
What professions within healthcare does the project address?
The curriculum framework will be designed to be appropriate for the teaching of doctors, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, radiographers, midwives and occupational therapists.
How are disabled people involved in the project?
Disabled people have been driving the project's aims and outcomes from the outset. They have helped to develop the proposed learning outcomes that form the basis of the public consultation which in turn has been disseminated to a much wider network of disabled people for comment. In addition, several members of the project's management teams are disabled, including the Project Director.
How will findings be disseminated?
The project's findings will be published on our website and via the Learning and Teaching Subject Network which promotes good learning and teaching practice and provide teaching resources to UK higher education institutions.
The project will develop an audit tool for higher education institutions to enable them to critically evaluate measures of attitudinal and behavioural change in healthcare students.
The project will also produce guidelines for working in partnership with disabled people both as teachers and trainers in healthcare.
What is Disability Equality Training?
Disability Equality Training (DET) is a form of staff development that allows employees, in any organisation, to provide a better service for disabled customers or students. A DET course will enable participants to identify and address discriminatory forms of practice towards disabled people by encouraging an understanding of disability issues and their implications. DET aims to initiate action towards creating a society in which disabled people have the right, opportunity and choice of realising their potential as fully functioning citizens.
How can I get involved?
- You can help determine the curriculum content by joining in the Delphi consultation process. The more disabled people have their say, the stronger will be the pressure to make change..
- You can become a tutor or assessor. Please contact a.plumb@bristol.ac.uk for more information.
- You could support the project by spreading the word and encouraging other disabled people to get involved.