Having a doctor or medical professional that truly understands you is incredibly important. Knowing not just your medical background, but also the unique community you come from. For deaf people, having a deaf medical professional can mean more direct communication access to their healthcare provider as well as culturally responsive care.
Too often, however, there can be systemic barriers put in front of deaf students pursuing medical education and training programs. From a limited pool of qualified interpreters and captionists who can handle technical vocabulary to attitudinal barriers from faculty, deaf medical students face challenges inside and outside the classroom.
That’s why groups like AMPHL are so important. AMPHL, or the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses, is a nonprofit membership organization that has been serving thousands of deafhealthcare professionals and students worldwide since 1999. Their goal is to create a diverse, robust network for people with hearing loss interested in or working in healthcare fields by promoting equal opportunities in the health professions. AMPHL provides a variety of resources as well as mentorship and networking opportunities to members.
AMPHL will be hosting their 2022 conference from August 19-21 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas with the theme, “Utilizing Technological Tools and Resources in the Setting of a Pandemic.” The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) will be there with both a booth and an exciting presentation by NDC team members Stephanie Zito and Kate Lewandowksi on the topic,“Centering Deaf Students in Healthcare Education and Training.”
NDC will also be featuring our Health Majors Campaign on social media where you can see real stories from deaf medical professionals about their experiences pursuing their education. Be sure to follow all our social accounts to learn more!
We hope to see you at AMPHL 2022 and on social media. To learn more about working with deaf medical students check out our healthcare majors topic page for more information. As always, NDC’s help team is here to support you with any additional questions you may have. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and events by joining NDC’s newsletter.
