Deaf students are pursuing healthcare careers at rapidly increasing rates.
Institutions must be prepared to accommodate deaf students not only in the classroom, but also in clinical settings. They can promote accessibility for deaf medical students by reviewing their healthcare programs’ technical standards to ensure deaf students are not excluded because of their hearing loss.
Begin by talking to the deaf student about how they plan to navigate the highly technical content of the program.
Special Considerations for Deaf Medical Students
Deaf Medical Students is a resource that summarizes common accommodations including stethoscopes, specialized interpreters and speech-to-text professionals, and medical face masks. This resource also includes a checklist for disability services professionals and deaf students to discuss during the planning process prior to internships and clinicals.
When interpreting, speech-to-text services, or both are needed in medical training programs, identify providers with proficient knowledge of medical terminology and experience in medical training and clinical settings.
Consider the benefits of consistent providers, especially as these students move further into their studies. It is recommended that the institution identify a small pool of providers that can be used to support consistent communication access.
Additional Resources:
- Deaf Medical Students
- Technical Standards in Healthcare Careers
- Equitable Access Guide: Section 7: Technical Standards
- Where can I learn more about accommodations for deaf medical students?
- What community resources are available to support deaf students pursuing careers in health sciences and medical fields?
- If a deaf medical student utilizes an interpreter or speech-to-text provider, does it impact HIPAA’s patient privacy rule?
- Who is responsible for providing stethoscopes for deaf students?
- Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses
- AMA: Journal of Ethics: Technical Standards and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Medical School Applicants and Students: Interrogating Sensory Capacity and Practice Capacity
- Understanding The Work Of Designated Healthcare Interpreters
- Technology Assures Deaf Student Learns Surgery at UC Davis School of Medicine
- How I bridge two worlds as a deaf medical student
- Dr. Michael Argenyi shares his experiences going through medical school and in various rotations
- Accommodating Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students In Operating room environments: A case study
