Disabilities

We collaborate with our medical school and community partners to develop a model longitudinal curriculum that prepares aspiring physicians to provide exemplary care to patients with disabilities.

People with disabilities are subject to health care disparities, making them a vulnerable population within the U.S. health care system. Medical students have documented deficiencies in their knowledge about people with disabilities and their ability to care for these patients.

With the UB Division of General Internal Medicine and community stakeholders, we’re researching a curriculum that addresses these deficiencies.

Our curriculum spans all four years of predoctoral medical education, using experiential learning activities to teach medical students how to care for people with disabilities knowledgeably, skillfully and sensitively. We’ve designed it as a model for applying principles of medical professionalism.

Research Projects

No current funded projects with this as the primary focus area.

Research Centers/Partners

  • Upstate New York Practice Based Research Network
    4/6/21

    Director: Laurene M. Tumiel Berhalter, PhD

    Investigates questions related to community-based primary care practice. Aims to improve patient care by translating research into practice and by involving practices in research.

Faculty

  • Symons, Andrew

    Andrew Symons, MD, MS

    Clinical Professor and Vice Chair for Medical Student Education

    UBMD Family Medicine at Sheridan 2465 Sheridan Dr. Tonawanda, NY 14150

    Phone: (716) 835-9800; Fax: (716) 835-9876

    Email: symons@buffalo.edu