Accommodations for Healthcare Majors

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.

Chris Moreland discusses his experience as a deaf medical doctor.
Read full video description.
Zach Featherstone discusses the challenges he faced while looking for an internship in the medical field. Read full video description.

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

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