Episode 129: Disclosure Part 3: Creating the Conditions for Disclosure
Release Date: 07/28/2026
DocsWithDisabilities
Part 3: Creating the Conditions for Disclosure What makes disability disclosure feel safe, supported, and meaningful in healthcare? In the final episode of the Disclosureseries, we move beyond the barriers to examine the conditions that allow disclosure to lead to access, trust, and belonging. Through the perspectives of medical students, physician assistant students, fellows, physicians, and educators, this episode explores how institutional systems, responsive accommodations, inclusive leadership, and everyday acts of advocacy shape disclosure experiences across medical training and...
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Series Description Disclosure is a three-part podcast series from the Docs with Disabilities Podcast that examines one of the most personal and consequential decisions disabled healthcare providers make: whether, when, and how to disclose a disability. Through the voices of medical students, residents, practicing physicians, psychologists, nurses, researchers, legal scholars, and disability advocates, the series explores disclosure as an ongoing process shaped by identity, institutional culture, ableism, and power. Blending lived experience with research and policy, the series challenges...
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Series Description Disclosure is a three-part podcast series from the Docs with Disabilities Podcast that examines one of the most personal and consequential decisions disabled healthcare providers make: whether, when, and how to disclose a disability. Through the voices of medical students, residents, practicing physicians, psychologists, nurses, researchers, legal scholars, and disability advocates, the series explores disclosure as an ongoing process shaped by identity, institutional culture, ableism, and power. Blending lived experience with research and policy, the series challenges...
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From Evidence to Action: Incorporating Disability Inclusion in Medical Training and Practice (ICAM 2026) Session Description The ICAM Series | Recorded Live at the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) What does it take to move disability inclusion from research and policy into everyday medical training and practice? Recorded live at the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) in Ottawa, Canada, this special episode of the Docs With Disabilities Podcast brings together an extraordinary panel of physician leaders, educators, and advocates working to transform disability...
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Interviewees: Neera Jain, PhD — Senior Lecturer, Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland Hannah Kakara Anderson, PhD, MBA — Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Abigail (Abby) Konoposky, PhD— Director of Medical Education Research, Department of Psychiatry, Northwell Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA — Professor of Medical Education, The University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago; Host, the Docs With Disabilities Podcast Description: In this...
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Interviewees: Carol Haywood, PhD, OTR/L — Assistant Professor, Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chris Moreland, MD, MPH — Professor of Internal Medicine; Division Chief for Hospital Medicine; Interim Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs and Development, Dell Medical School (Comments made in ASL and voiced through interpreters) Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA — Guest Editor, Academic Medicine Supplement on Disability Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education Description: In this episode of Stories Behind the Science, we sit down with Dr....
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Episode 123: Evaluating Disability-Inclusive Content on U.S. Medical Schools’ Websites—A National Study Interviewees: Ifeoma Ikedionwu, MD — Psychiatry and Internal Medicine Dual Intern, UT Southwestern Dominique Cook — Fourth-Year Medical Student, University of South Florida Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA — Guest Editor, Academic Medicine Supplement on Disability Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education Description: In this episode of Stories Behind the Science, Dr. Lisa Meeks sits down with Dr. Ifeoma Ikedionwu and Dominique Cook, co-authors of the first national study...
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Interviewees: Matthew Sullivan, PhD, Assistant Director of Disability Resources, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Suchita “Suchi” Rastogi, PhD. MPH Candidate, University of Illinois Chicago; CEO, Disability in Medicine Mutual Mentorship Program Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA, Guest Editor, Academic Medicine Supplement on Disability Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education Description: In this episode of Stories Behind the Science, Dr. Lisa Meeks talks with Matt Sullivan (Washington University School of Medicine) and Suchita “Suchi” Rastogi (UIC; DM3P) about...
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Interviewee: Erick Hung, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Associate Dean for Students, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA, Guest Editor, Academic Medicine Supplement on Disability Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education Description: In this episode of Stories Behind the Science, Dr. Lisa Meeks talks with Dr. Erick Hung (UCSF) about his paper, “Promoting Disability Inclusion Through an Expanded Conceptual Framework of the Learning Environment,” part of the Academic Medicine supplement on Disability Inclusion in UME. Their...
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Interviewee: Bassel Shanab, BS is a fourth-year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine. Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA, Guest Editor, Academic Medicine Supplement on Disability Inclusion in UME. Description: This episode of Stories Behind the Science sits down with Bassel Shanab (Yale School of Medicine), co-first author of “The Intersection of Disability, Race, Ethnicity, and Financial Background on Food Insecurity Among Medical Students,” part of the Academic Medicine supplement on Disability Inclusion in UME. We move beyond prevalence rates to the lived realities...
info_outlinePart 3: Creating the Conditions for Disclosure
What makes disability disclosure feel safe, supported, and meaningful in healthcare? In the final episode of the Disclosureseries, we move beyond the barriers to examine the conditions that allow disclosure to lead to access, trust, and belonging. Through the perspectives of medical students, physician assistant students, fellows, physicians, and educators, this episode explores how institutional systems, responsive accommodations, inclusive leadership, and everyday acts of advocacy shape disclosure experiences across medical training and practice. Contributors reflect on the importance of flexible accommodation processes, proactive communication, faculty and peer support, and the role of community in fostering psychological safety. Together, these stories demonstrate that while policies create opportunities for access, people create the conditions for trust—and that building environments where disabled learners and clinicians can thrive ultimately strengthens healthcare for everyone.
Featured Contributors
- Anonymous Physician Assistant Student
- Khaja Siddiqui
- Anonymous Medical Student
- Anonymous Fellow
- Dr. Andrea Lendaris
- Dr. Karla Castro-Frenzel
Transcript
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vgn-NGI52buG-xXUxIOCBMhd3oM6Jyz-9W0KDP-KwG0/edit?usp=sharing
Keywords
Disability disclosure
Disability accommodations
Medical education
Clinical accommodations
Medical students with disabilities
Residents with disabilities
Healthcare workplace culture
Psychological safety
Faculty advocacy
Inclusive leadership
Accessibility in medicine
Physicians with disabilities
Health professions education
Disability inclusion
Healthcare culture
Community and belonging
Identity safety
Production Team
Developer, Writer, Executive Producer: Sofia Schlozman
Co-Producers: Rylee Betchkal and Lisa Meeks
Co-Producer, Sound Selection and Editing: Gabe Abrams
Sound Production: Next Day Podcast
Digital Media: Katie Sullivan