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Abstract: As a form of discrimination, ableism impacts access to and the experience of clinical care for patients with disabilities as well as the daily experiences of learners and clinicians with disabilities. Ableist beliefs and practices conflict with physicians' professional responsibilities and legal obligations to provide care that is nondiscriminatory and accessible. An actionable pedagogical approach within medical education is needed to prepare a physician workforce that is able to meaningfully identify and mitigate ableism at all levels of the health care system.In this article, the authors propose a 3-pronged approach to ableism-aware medical education, building on frameworks that have been articulated for addressing other forms of discrimination to set forth a practical framework easily adopted by educators who may not be experts in ableism and its impact. The 3-pronged approach aligns with American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges perspectives on advancing health equity and is inclusive of priority areas articulated by stakeholders, including those living with disability, those teaching about disability, and those advancing equity within medicine more broadly. The authors provide strategies relevant to medical students, faculty, and institutions, recognizing that ableism exists-and can be addressed-on multiple levels., (Copyright © 2024 the Association of American Medical Colleges.)

People with disabilities constitute 22.2% of the population in the United States, and virtually all physicians have people with disabilities in their clinical practice across a wide range of diagnostic groups. However, studies demonstrate that people with disabilities are inadequately served by the health care system, leading to high costs and poor outcomes. The authors argue that one cause of this discrepancy is that medical students receive limited training in the care of people with disabilities and may therefore not be able to adequately meet the competencies that underlie the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency. To address these gaps, the authors present practical examples of integrating concepts of disability into the curriculum with minimal additional time requirements. A comprehensive disability curriculum is suggested to include active classroom learning, clinical, and community-based experiences. At institutions that do not have a comprehensive curriculum, the authors recommend adding disability-related knowledge and skill acquisition to existing curricula through modifications to current case-based learning, simulated patients, and objective structured clinical examinations. To facilitate curriculum development, they recommend that the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health be used as a tool to build disability concepts into active learning. The goal of these recommended curricular changes is to enhance student performance in the clinical management of people with disabilities and to better train all future physicians in the care of this population.