Barriers in medical education: a scoping review of common themes for medical students with disabilities

Many leaders in medical education have called for the inclusion of students with disabilities. Yet, a small number of review articles have been written summarizing the key literature addressing this topic. This review focuses on literature published between 2000 and 2021 that discusses medical education disability-specific barriers, student disability prevalence, and available institutional disability resources. Barriers include lack of procedure for students with disabilities to access services, delays in education to address disability needs, identified institutional disability resource professional (DRP), structural and physical barriers, outdated policies, and lack of understanding of accommodations needed in all educational settings, especially clinical. Medical school stakeholders must clearly understand the published literature on this topic to promote the full inclusion of students with disabilities.