This document outlines disability competencies that are being introduced into the medical education curriculum in India. It discusses the need for disability competencies due to the large population of people with disabilities. It describes the eight disability competencies that have been defined under the five roles of an Indian medical graduate based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. Suggested teaching learning methods are provided for each competency, including lectures, case discussions, simulations, and visits to disability units.

1. Disability competencies
FC 4.5.1, FC 4.5.2
Compare and contrast medical
and social model of disbility
Dr. Bipul Barthakur, Prof & Hod,
Department of Orthopedics, LMCH

2. What are Disability Competencies
• Competencies are abilities &
attributes that are essential to
effective health care delivery
• Disability competencies are skills
and attributes essential to providing
health care to patients with
disability
• Or Minimum expected out of Indian
medical graduate about the
disability to provide compensate
care to all

3. Why do we need Disability Competencies
• 1 in 7 population or 15% population
live with some form with disability
• Largest minority group
• This number is increasing with
chronic disease, age, RTA
• 80% in developing countries
• 70% in rural population

4. • This is first human right treaty of the new millennium.
• UNCRPD is one of 9 core international human right treaties & 1st
internationally legally binding instrument to all the countries & nation that
have ratify this convention.
• India has ratified with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and has passed the Rights of People with
Disabilities Act in 2016.

5. • India was one of the maor country that ratify this convention in 2007.
• Change their existing law & in 2016 we have disability law “Right to Person
with Disability act”
• Section 39:2F states that “ensure the right of disable people are included
in curriculum in university, college & school” that implies to medical
education & MCI

6. • There is need for training healthcare professionals in disability competencies
as people with disabilities are many and marginalized.
• Though disability competencies have been introduced in medical education
curricula across the world, until recently there was no formal training in
disability competencies forour health care professionals in India.
• Disability competencies were introduced in the MBBS curriculum of India at
the behest of Dr Satendra Singh, himself having experienced locomotor
disability.
• Dr Satendra Singh describes the framing of disability curriculum after focus
group discussions with disability rights activists, doctors with disabilities, and
health professions educators.

7. When to teach Disability Competencies
• Day 1 because we will be having patient, student, faculty with disability.
• We need the disability competencies longitudinally through out the curriculum
as per the new disability lrgislation that is why it is included in foundation
course.
• 3rd-4th year we are having 1 month of electives. We can have seperate
elective on disability medicine

8. Where to teach Disability Competencies
• Lecture hall
• Demonstration in bedside or clinics
• We have to include interpersonal
communication like waiting room,
emergency, postop, follow up,
rehabilitation etc.

9. Who will teach Disability Competencies
• People lived with experienced disability.
• It can be patient with disability, student with disability, faculty with disability
because they have lived experienced
• In addition we can invite disability activist, care giver to disability people,
human right experts & anybody with passion.

10. How to teach Disability Competncies
• We need to include the tools from health humanity to teach disability
competencies
• ABCDE pradigm is an integrated interdisciplanary medical humanity
approach to teach medical students
A. appropriae analytical attitude
B. ethical & professional behaviour
C. effective communication
D. respect for diversity
E. empathy
• We can use art, paintings, incidental report, poetry, narratives to teach
disability competencies

11. • Disability competencies were introduced in the curriculum just before starting
the foundation course in August 2019.
• The method of delivering the foundation curriculum including disability
competencies FC 4.5.1 to 4.5.8 was published in the MCI website.
• The final version of the competency based curriculum was gazetted in
November 2019.

16. Eight Disability Competencies under the Five Roles
of the Indian Medical Graduate (IMG)
1. The student should be able to :
- Describe disability as per united nations convention on the Rights to
Persons with Disabilities while demonstrating respect for the differences and
capacities of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
• Suggested TLM ( teaching learning method) : Lecture or panel discussion
involving person with disability.
2. The student should be able to :
- Compare and contrast medical and social model of disability.
• Suggested TLM : Patient narratives in small groups followed by sharing
amongst groups

17. 3. The student should be able to :
- Built an understanding on the disability etiquettes while addressing
people with disabilities.
• Suggested TLM : Standardized patient with disabilities in small groups
followed by sharing amongst group.
4. The student should be able to :
- Demonstrate awareness of the disabilities inclued in the Rights of
Person with Disabilities Act, 2016.
• Suggested TLM : Case histories, incidental reports in small groups followed
by sharing amongst groups

18. 5. The student should be able to :
- Demonstrate the use of verbal and non-verbal empathetic
communication techniques while communicating with people with disbilities.
• Suggested TLM : Clinical patient encounter with guidance in small groups
followed by sharing amongst groups.
6. The student should be able to :
- Demonstrate a non-discriminatory behaviours towards patients or
caregivers with disabilities.
Suggested TLM : Video or simulated encounters or Forum Theatre ( Theatre of
Oppressed ) Classroom session.

19. 7. The student should be able to :
- Have an understanding of accessible halthcare seting for patients with
disabilities, including universal design.
• Suggested TLM : disability unit visit
8. The student should be able to :
- Advocate social inclusion by raising awareness of the human righs of
persons with disabilities.
Suggested TLM : Paper/blog SDL (Simple Direct Media Layer)