Lisa Meeks, Ph.D., MA, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan, is a recipient of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Catalyst Award for Transformation in Graduate Medical Education, which will support the collaborative project, the Multimedia Resource Hub for Disability Inclusion in Graduate Medical Education.
The project is a partnership between Meeks’ Docs with Disabilities Initiative (DWDI) and the ACGME. The aim of the project is to support education and enhance disability inclusion, learner safety, and accessibility in the clinical learning environment for medical residents and fellows across the country.
"With a notable increase in undergraduate medical education learners transitioning to graduate medical education, the hub enables us to expand educational offerings, resources, and support to the graduate level, addressing a crucial gap in the training continuum." Meeks said, also adding, “Our strategic alliance with the ACGME serves as a pivotal element, ensuring the hub's maximum reach and impact.”
Capitalizing on their collective expertise as learners, clinicians, educators, advocates and leaders in undergraduate and graduate medical education -- as well as their lived experiences across traditionally marginalized identities -- the team will develop the Multimedia Resource Hub for Disability Inclusion in Graduate Medical Education.
The hub will host a broad range of resources on topics such as normalizing disability inclusion, creating safe environments for disclosing disabilities, and meeting legal obligations for disability inclusion that span undergraduate and graduate medical education.
DWDI Team members include:
- Co-Directors Meeks and Justin Bullock, MD, a nephrology fellow at the University of Washington.
- Zoie Sheets, MD, MPH, the DWDI Trainee Advisory Board Chair and resident physician at the University of Chicago (as well as a former MDisability summer intern with U-M’s Family Medicine).
- Nalinda Charnsangavej, MD, co-chair of the Docs With Disabilities Disability in Graduate Medical Education (DIGME) program and pediatrics program director at the Dell College of Medicine at the University of Texas.
“Disability inclusion in medicine is crucial to creating a workforce that resembles the population we serve," said Sheets. "As a disabled trainee, I am thrilled to be a part of this phenomenal team committed to advancing disability inclusion across medical education.”
ACGME Partners include:
- William McDade, MD, Ph.D., chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer
- Pilar Ortega, MD, MGM, vice president, diversity, equity, and inclusion
The Multimedia Resource Hub for Disability Inclusion in Graduate Medical Education will be added to the ACGME Equity Matters® content portfolio available onthe ACGME’s distance learning portal, Learn at ACGME.
The ACGME Equity Matters® program supports the development of innovative resources that increase workforce diversity, encourage adoption of equity practices, and foster inclusive learning environments. The ACGME is committed to eliminating health care inequities through medical education.
“This project brings the critical topic of disability to the forefront,” Ortega said. “We are proud to help amplify the voices and the vast experiences of the physician workforce.”
Calls for community involvement and inclusion in the hub will be forthcoming.
