Is ableism still entrenched in the medical profession in South Africa?

Authors

  • S N Whitehead Division of Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • H Kathard Division of Speech and Language Pathology, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Prof. Theresa Lorenzo Division of Disability Studies, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • S L Amosun Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7196/

Keywords:

disability, ableism in medicine

Abstract

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References

South African Government. Disability Rights Awareness Month 2023. Pretoria: South African Government, 2023. https://www.gov.za/DisabilityRightsAwarenessMonth2023 (accessed 12 January 2023).

Meeks LM, Maraki I, Singh S, Curry RH. Global commitments to disability inclusion in health professions. Lancet 2020;395(10227):852-853. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30215-4

Kuper H, Shakespeare T, Soto C, Booth S. Low numbers of disabled doctors mean potential loss of insightful care for everyone. BMJ 2021;373:n948. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n948

Nouri Z, Dill MJ, Conrad SS, Moreland CJ, Meeks LM. Estimated prevalence of US physicians with disabilities. JAMA 2021;4(3):e211254. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1254

Snashall D. Doctors with disabilities: licensed to practise? Clin Med 2009;9(4):315-319. https://doi. org/10.7861/clinmedicine.9-4-315

Rimmer A. Disabled doctors are not getting the workplace adjustments they need, research finds. BMJ 2020;370:m3189. DOI:10.1136/bmj.m3189.

Cross T. Disabled doctors exist: Celebrating their contribution to medicine. Able Medics. General Medical Council (UK). https://www.gmc-uk.org/education/standards-guidance-and-curricula/ guidance/welcomed-and-valued/disabled-doctors-exist (accessed 10 September 2023).

Suich H, Schneider M. Monitoring disability inclusion: Setting a baseline for South Africa. Afr J Disability 2022;11(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v11i0.1020

Neilson S. Ableism in the medical profession. CMAJ 2020;192(15):E411-412. DOI: 10.1503/ cmaj.191597

Gault MA, Raha SS, Newell C. Perception of disability as a barrier for Canadian medical students. Can Fam Physician 2020;66(3):169-171. https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/66/3/169.full.pdf (accessed 16 January 2024).

Whitehead SN. Proposing clinician competency guidelines for the inclusion of disability in the undergraduate medical curriculum of South Africa – an exploratory study. Doctoral thesis 2023. OpenUCT. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38550. (accessed 10 July 2023).

Whitehead S, Kathard H, Lorenzo T. Why disability should be included in the professional education of general practice medical doctors. https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201905.0209/v1 2019 (accessed 20 July 2022)

Whitehead S, Baalbergen E. Post-stroke rehabilitation. S Afr Med J 2019;109(2):81-83. https://doi. org/10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v109i2.00011

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Published

2024-02-13

Issue

Section

Correspondence

How to Cite

1.
Whitehead SN, Kathard H, Lorenzo T, Amosun SL. Is ableism still entrenched in the medical profession in South Africa?. S Afr Med J [Internet]. 2024 Feb. 13 [cited 2025 Apr. 24];114(2):e1766. Available from: https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/1766