Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, United States of America.
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Jun 18;19(6):e0304784. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304784. eCollection 2024.
Students who earn their medical doctorate (MD) in the U.S. must pass the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step-1. The application process for students with disabilities who seek Step-1 accommodations can be arduous, barrier-ridden, and can impose a significant burden that may have long-lasting effects. We sought to understand the experiences of medical students with Type-1 Diabetes (T1D) who applied for Step-1 accommodations.
A Qualtrics survey was administered to students enrolled in Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited MD programs who disclosed having a primary diagnosis of T1D. Basic counts and qualitative inductive analyses were conducted.
Of the 21 surveys sent, 16 (76.2%) participants responded. Of the 16 respondents, 11 (68.8%) applied for USMLE Step-1 accommodations, whereas 5 (31.2%) did not. Of the 11 who applied for accommodations, 7 (63.6%) received the accommodations requested, while 4 (36.4%) did not. Of those who received the accommodations requested, 5/7 (71.4%) experienced at least one diabetes-related barrier on exam day. Of those who did not apply for Step-1 accommodations, 4/5 (80%) participants reported experiencing at least one diabetes-related barrier on exam day. Overall, 11/16 (68.8%) students experienced barriers on exam day with or without accommodations. Qualitative analysis revealed themes among participants about their experience with the process: frustration, anger, stress, and some areas of general satisfaction.
This study reports the perceptions of students with T1D about barriers and inequities in the Step-1 accommodations application process. Students with and without accommodations encountered T1D-related obstacles on test day.
在美国获得医学博士（MD）学位的学生必须通过美国医师执照考试（USMLE）第一步。残疾学生申请第一步住宿的申请过程可能很艰难，障碍重重，并可能带来巨大的负担，可能会产生长期影响。我们试图了解申请第一步住宿的 1 型糖尿病（T1D）学生的经历。
向在医学教育联络委员会（LCME）认可的 MD 课程中注册并透露患有 T1D 主要诊断的学生发送了一份 Qualtrics 调查。进行了基本计数和定性归纳分析。
在发送的 21 份调查中，有 16 份（76.2%）参与者做出了回应。在 16 名受访者中，有 11 名（68.8%）申请了 USMLE 第一步住宿，而 5 名（31.2%）没有申请。在申请住宿的 11 人中，有 7 人（63.6%）获得了所要求的住宿，而有 4 人（36.4%）没有。在获得所要求的住宿的 5 人中，有 71.4%（5/7）在考试当天经历了至少一次与糖尿病相关的障碍。在没有申请 USMLE 第一步住宿的 5 人中，有 80%（4/5）的参与者报告在考试当天经历了至少一次与糖尿病相关的障碍。总的来说，有 11/16（68.8%）的学生在有或没有住宿的情况下在考试当天遇到了障碍。定性分析揭示了参与者对这一过程的看法：沮丧、愤怒、压力和一些普遍满意的领域。
本研究报告了 T1D 学生对第一步住宿申请过程中障碍和不平等的看法。有和没有住宿的学生在考试当天都遇到了与 T1D 相关的障碍。
