Come Roll with Me: An Interprofessional Experience to Promote Disability Awareness

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Disability Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• People with disabilities represent the largest minority group in the U.S. and face significant healthcare disparities.
• Limited disability awareness programs in medical schools leave graduates unprepared to care for this population.
• Existing healthcare systems often present barriers to accessing care for individuals with disabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of the Come Roll with Me (CRWM) interprofessional preclinical experience on medical and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students' understanding of disability.
• To evaluate CRWM's effectiveness in addressing barriers and health disparities faced by individuals with disabilities.
• To determine if CRWM met its pre-implementation goals and objectives, including Interprofessional Educational Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies.

Main Methods:

• CRWM involved medical and DPT students rotating through four stations with physical therapists and wheelchair users.
• Stations focused on manual wheelchair skills, accessible parking, transfers, and healthcare barriers.
• Assessment included course evaluations, thematic analysis of student reflections, and focus groups with wheelchair user facilitators.

Main Results:

• Student reflections showed an ability to identify and prioritize mitigation strategies for disability-related barriers.
• Approximately 91% of medical students found CRWM effective for their learning.
• Wheelchair user facilitators identified education, teaming, and student impact as key outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The Come Roll with Me program successfully met all its educational goals and Interprofessional Educational Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies.
• CRWM offers a unique interprofessional learning opportunity, enhancing students' understanding of disability.
• Individuals with disabilities and DPT students serve as valuable, underutilized educators in medical training.