ISC: Disability Competent Care

School of Medicine

Nearly 1 in 3 adults in Tennessee identify as having a disability, including cognitive, sensory, mobility, self-care, and independent-living impairments. Persons with disabilities experience health gaps that affect all aspects of their lives, from employment and education to family planning, cancer prevention, and health promotion. Including education about disabilities in medical training is essential to ensuring equitable health outcomes for people with disabilities. In fact, the 2022 National Council on Disability policy brief, Health Equity Framework for People with Disabilities, emphasizes the need for including disability-competent care and comprehensive disability clinical-care curricula in all US medical schools. Physicians in every field of medicine care for persons with disabilities, yet few practicing physicians received any training in disability-competent care. Today’s medical students will carry forward what they learn at VUSM into their careers, becoming leaders with the vision and skills to advance health and well-being for the 26% of Americans living with disabilities.