Support For Students With LD?

[Tellorn]

Originally Posted by october

Yes, I specifically replied with "What"? regarding your "deaf" issue. Sorry. I'll lay off the humour.

yeah.. that sounds a like a good plan.

[Miklos]

Originally Posted by Habeeb

Unfortunatly, in this case the answer is no. There's a long list of requirements a for a potential physician. They include full use of hands, eyesight, smell, and no lifelong debilitating illnesses. Making accomadations for people without this conditions is not practical in medicine because patient's lives are at stake, and the tiniest difference in skill for actual M.D.s will result in completely different outcomes sometimes. Unless your friend can do it without any special treatment and keep the disorder from manifesting itself to others, she won't be able to become a doctor.

Originally Posted by Picard

Learning disability in and of itself does not disqualify you from medical school. Many schools have academic/educational services that help their students to adjust to the demands of medical school. You do need to have the cognitive ability to learn medicine in a pace that is taught... there are simply no way around this. If the help she needs are in terms of test taking skills, studying skills... etc, then I'm sure there are schools that will accomadate.

As for physical requirements -- yes, you do need to be able to see and hear, and to palpate your patients -- these are necessary skills to exam patients competently. This does not mean that you cannot have any physical disability -- I know a few surgeons in wheelchairs...

P

I agree with october and Tellorn. I am pretty sure that there have been hearing disabled and blind physicians.

I read about a quadraplegic who graduated from a med school in NY not too long ago and then went on to an IM residency.

So, how did he palpate his patients? He hired a PA to do the 'physical' work for him.