Episode 124: Mapping the Landscape of Technical Standards: A Nationwide Review of Medical Schools

Mapping the Landscape of Technical Standards: A Nationwide Review of Medical Schools

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. Carol Haywood and Dr. Chris Moreland to explore a deceptively powerful document: the medical school technical standards. These quietly influential statements—often tucked deep in an admissions webpage—shape who feels welcome to apply, who gains access, and how institutions imagine the future of their profession.

Haywood and Moreland, co-authors of a national analysis featured in the Academic Medicine supplement on Disability Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education, unpack what happens when ambiguous language, outdated assumptions, and vague expectations collide with real people making real decisions about their careers. Together, they dig into the nuances of functional vs. organic standards, the importance of clarity for applicants who lack insider knowledge, and the ripple effects of inequitable policies across a learner’s entire training experience.

What emerges is both sobering and hopeful: a field undergoing change, a growing recognition that words matter, and a roadmap for institutions ready to bring their values into alignment with their practices.

The discussion reviews:

• How technical standards became a gatekeeper—and why revising a single sentence can shift an entire culture.

• Why students with disabilities read these documents differently—and why that matters for equity.

• How ambiguity in admissions can deter talented future physicians long before they step foot in a classroom.

• What schools can do now to create standards that prioritize competence, flexibility, and inclusion.

Dr. Haywood brings a researcher’s lens and an occupational therapist’s creativity to the conversation, illuminating how functional expectations—not assumptions about bodies—should guide medical training. Dr. Moreland shares deeply personal reflections on navigating technical standards as a deaf physician, offering rare insight into how these documents land on applicants with lived experience.

This episode invites the audience to imagine a medical education landscape where technical standards do what they should do—define competence, set expectations, and open doors—rather than unintentionally closing them.

Bios: 

Carol Haywood, PhD, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences in the Determinants of Health Division and core faculty in the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. Building from her work as an occupational therapist in acute rehabilitation, she completed a PhD in occupational science at the University of Southern California and a postdoctoral fellowship in health services and outcomes research at Northwestern University. Using qualitative, mixed methods, and community-engaged research approaches, she studies disability in a variety of contexts, as well as health care access, coordination, and quality. She is driven by a vision of health care that facilitates equity for people with disabilities.

Chris Moreland, MD MPH, is a professor of medicine, interim associate department chair for faculty affairs, and division chief for hospital medicine at Dell Medical School at UT Austin. He practices clinically as a hospitalist. As a career-long clinician educator, his teaching has been recognized regionally and nationally. His collaborative advocacy and research efforts describe the experiences of our healthcare workforce and learners with disabilities, as well as strategies to foster pathways to thriving clinicians. He has served as president and longtime board member for the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses; he holds current roles on the Docs with Disabilities Initiative advisory board, the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion steering committee, and as a consultant with the National Deaf Center.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18hUPguWf_jWeDC1fmOgSKSXPv4xGnkQIPUi3zhfH540/edit?usp=sharing

Resources:
Singer, Tracey; Madanguit, Lance MD; Fok, King T. MD, MSc; Stauffer, Catherine E. MD; Meeks, Lisa M. PhD, MA; Moreland, Christopher J. MD, MPH; Huang, Lynn MS; Case, Benjamin MPH; Lagu, Tara MD, MPH; Kannam, Allison MD; Haywood, Carol PhD, OTR/L. Mapping the Landscape of Technical Standards: A Nationwide Review of Medical Schools. Academic Medicine 100(10S):p S144-S151, October 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000006135
 

McKee, M.M., Gay, S., Ailey, S., Meeks, L.M. (2020). Technical Standards. In: Meeks, L., Neal-Boylan, L. (eds) Disability as Diversity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46187-4_9

Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education (2nd Ed). Meeks LM, Jain NR, & Laird EP. Springer Publishing, 2020.

Key Words: Disability inclusion · Technical standards · Medical education · Admissions · Accessibility · Equity · Policy reform