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📚 Cite this page

AMA
Weru Lawrence. Untitled. The ENABLE Model website. Published 2025. Accessed 2025-08-09. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative

APA
Weru, L. (2025). Untitled. The ENABLE Model. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative

MLA
Weru, Lawrence. "Untitled." The ENABLE Model, 2025, https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative.

Chicago
Weru, Lawrence. "Untitled." The ENABLE Model. 2025. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative.

BibTeX

@misc{enable2025docs-with-disabilities-initiative,
    author = {Weru, Lawrence},
    title = {Untitled},
    year = {2025},
    url = {https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative},
    note = {The ENABLE Model}
}

Docs with Disabilities Initiative

Educators in medical schools use the Docs With Disabilities podcast to bring first‑person disability perspectives into curriculum planning and faculty development. Some institutions include it as a recommended resource in faculty training to support inclusion during curriculum design and planning1 2.

ENABLE Model location​

What it is​

The Docs With Disabilities Initiative and its podcast, co-founded by Dr. Lisa Meeks, serve as critical resources to educate faculty and administrators on disability inclusion in health professions education. The podcast shares stories of disabled physicians and medical professionals, offering authentic, lived-experience insights that can inform curriculum design before new courses are launched2.

Why it matters​

This initiative functions as a pre‑launch intervention within the ENABLE Model by embedding disability perspectives into educational content before course materials are finalized. By integrating first‑person narratives and disability inclusion context early in curriculum development, it supports the creation of accessible, inclusive teaching from the outset -- helping prevent barriers from being "baked in."

Real‑world example​

Faculty development resources and medical education forums recommend the podcast to help faculty and DRPs (Disability Resource Professionals) design more inclusive curricula informed by authentic stories from students and practitioners with disabilities3.

What care sounds like​

  • “We include podcast episodes that share lived experiences of disabled healthcare providers in our faculty training before planning new courses.”
  • “We encourage faculty to listen to the Docs With Disabilities Podcast to enrich their teaching practices, ensuring diverse disability perspectives are integrated from the start.”
  • “Our goal is to prepare future doctors to understand the real-world needs of disabled patients, starting with what they learn here in class.”

What neglect sounds like​

  • “We don’t prioritize integrating disability perspectives into curriculum until after courses begin.”
  • “Disability inclusion is important, but we’ll cover it in an optional session later.”
  • “Our standard texts and lectures already cover diversity -- no need for additional personal narratives.”

What compensation sounds like​

  • “I relied on personal research or community resources to understand what living with a disability is truly like, beyond what was taught in class.”
  • “I had to educate my instructors about my condition because the curriculum didn’t include disability stories that felt relevant.”
  • “My peers shared outside resources that helped me understand concepts the syllabus didn’t cover, so we learned together informally.”

References​

Footnotes​

  1. https://academicmedicineblog.org/accessibility-and-inclusion-in-the-clinical-learning-environment/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Accessibility and Inclusion in the Clinical Learning Environment - AM Rounds" ↩

  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Meeks?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Lisa Meeks - Wikipedia" ↩ ↩2

  3. https://www.docswithdisabilities.org/podcast?utm_source=chatgpt.com "PODCAST | DocsWithDisabilities" ↩


📝 Disclaimer

The ENABLE Model draws on principles from anthropology and journalism to create a public ethnography of accessibility, documenting how people intervene or compensate for accessibility breakdowns in the real world. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement. It chronicles observed use -- how a tool, organization, or strategy is actually used -- rather than how it is marketed. References, when provided, are for verification and transparency.


📚 Cite this page

AMA
Weru Lawrence. Untitled. The ENABLE Model website. Published 2025. Accessed 2025-08-09. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative

APA
Weru, L. (2025). Untitled. The ENABLE Model. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative

MLA
Weru, Lawrence. "Untitled." The ENABLE Model, 2025, https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative.

Chicago
Weru, Lawrence. "Untitled." The ENABLE Model. 2025. https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative.

BibTeX

@misc{enable2025docs-with-disabilities-initiative,
    author = {Weru, Lawrence},
    title = {Untitled},
    year = {2025},
    url = {https://enablemodel.com/docs/manifestations/docs-with-disabilities-initiative},
    note = {The ENABLE Model}
}