Survey links four-year disability curriculum with higher medical-student preparedness

Students at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who received a disability curriculum integrated across all four years of medical training reported greater preparedness to care for people with disabilities than visiting clerkship students who did not participate in the same program. In paired comparisons, mean preparedness scores were 4.14 for Northwestern students and 3.25 for visiting students, a difference reported as statistically significant with p < 0.001. The finding concerns students’ self-reported readiness rather than measured clinical competence, patient outcomes or reductions in health disparities.

The study primarily described the creation and mapping of the longitudinal curriculum while also evaluating preparedness through surveys. Its instructional components included interviews with people with disabilities, interdisciplinary panels, functional mobility assessments and immersive clinical experiences during the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation clerkship. The curriculum’s content was mapped against the six Core Competencies on Disability published in 2019 by the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education.

It addressed all six competencies and 38 of 49 associated sub-competencies, showing that the program offered broad coverage but did not encompass every item in the competency framework. The reported comparison therefore concerns a substantial, standards-aligned educational intervention rather than a single lecture, isolated course or brief clinical rotation. Survey responses from Northwestern students were compared with responses from visiting clerkship students who had not participated in the same longitudinal curriculum, and the results were analyzed using paired t-tests.

The higher mean score among Northwestern students was associated with participation in the integrated program and indicates greater perceived preparedness. Because this was a comparative, self-reported survey, the analysis does not demonstrate that the curriculum caused changes in clinical decisions or that those changes would improve care for disabled patients. The supplied results also do not establish effects on patient experiences, health-service access or health disparities.

The research addresses an inconsistency in undergraduate medical curricula, which the study background notes persists despite national calls for reform and the known health disparities and barriers to care experienced by people with disabilities. The Northwestern model responds by sequencing disability education throughout medical school, aligning it with established competencies, including perspectives from disabled people and incorporating practical rehabilitation experiences. The authors proposed that broader adoption of similar models could help expand disability education, but that possibility was not tested in this study.

Its clearest reported result is an association between the four-year integrated curriculum and higher self-reported preparedness among Northwestern students.

Subject of Research: Evaluation of a longitudinally integrated disability curriculum for undergraduate medical students at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Article Title: Longitudinally integrated disability education in undergraduate medical training: a comprehensive approach

Article References: Rydberg, L., Kessler, A., Rho, M., Schmidt, S. M., Spill, G., Weber, S., & Mhatre, P. (2026). Longitudinally integrated disability education in undergraduate medical training: a comprehensive approach. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10283-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10283-x

Keywords: disability education, medical curriculum, undergraduate medical students, student preparedness, disability competencies, health disparities, clinical training, rehabilitation medicine, interdisciplinary teaching, Northwestern University, Longitudinally, integrated