An article by Drs. Kim Mathos, Betty Liu, Jeffrey Petigrow and Forrest Shooster
For years within the medical school, students from the School of Medicine have been rotating with physicians and at clinics where clients who were Deaf or Hard of Hearing received care. In 2023, two medical students and the practicum coordinator decided to launch a brief three-session pilot to raise awareness about health disparities that face people who are d/Deaf. The group partnered with two Deaf people and an interpreter to achieve several specific goals.
These goals were to:
- Increase the comfort of medical students who meet d/Deaf people in the healthcare setting.
- Encourage the use of basic signs, gestures, and written notes to facilitate communication until the preferred accommodation can be achieved.
- Raise awareness about the role of an interpreter and the use of videophones.
- Teach 100 basic signs (ASL) used in healthcare settings.
- Inform students about disparities in health and behavioral health related to access to care and health information.
- Become informed about the diverse communication strategies utilized by people with sensory differences.
- Develop an understanding of the spectrum of hearing loss and how language and Hearing differences impact healthcare access and the exchange of health-related information.
The pilot project was very well received. Twenty medical students participated in at least one session, 65% attended two of the three sessions, and 65% of those originally expressed interest in attending attended the event at least once.
All seven medical students who participated in the course feedback gave the pilot program 5 out of 5 for course satisfaction and all thought community member participation was very beneficial. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback. One student wrote: “I loved it so much!! I am so glad this was put together, and I would be really interested in continuing to learn more in future semesters.”
A formal elective is tentative for the upcoming medical school term with the additional goals:
- Encourage awareness about the diverse language and communication strategies of people with hearing differences.
- Raise awareness about assistive technology that may be helpful in specific hospital settings.
- Inform attendees about Health disparities by arranging community dialogue with patients with hearing differences and Deaf community members!
- Arrange opportunities to offer health information to people who are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing.