RCPD supports students in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Human Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Nursing. Because these programs include traditional academic elements as well as labs, clinical rotations, and practical tests, each student registering with RCPD will have an in-depth interactive process with a specialist to determine the unique barriers and accommodations necessary for their equitable access.
Students in clinical medical programs will begin the registration process the same way all students do, by visiting our Get Started page, creating a profile, submitting documentation of their condition, and meeting with an RCPD specialist.
*If you do not have documentation of your condition, do not let that stop you from creating an account and reaching out to a specialist. There may be temporary measures that can be implemented while you work on getting documentation, and our office may even be able to assist you with getting connected to a provider.
A note: Your accommodations are kept confidential, so residencies and future employers will not see whether you have a record of accommodations at MSU, including for practical exams and clinical placements. Of course, there are instances where students gain employment at a previous rotation/residency sites, and in that case, the employer may already know about accommodations. Legally, this information cannot be used when determining eligibility for employment.
Accommodation Letter
An Accommodation Letter primarily lists a student’s accommodations for classroom, homework, assistive technology, and tests.
Accommodation Letter Addendum for Clinical Placements
An Accommodation Letter Addendum is used for students who need accommodations in clinical rotations, or other practical settings that don’t fit well on our general Accommodation Letter form.
While RCPD specialists often have enough information about classroom settings to approve accommodations immediately, clinical placements typically require your specialist to reach out to the placement site for a thorough investigation.Because each clinical setting and practical experience vary, the specialist must determine what is available in each individual situation. This means the process for determining accommodations for these settings is more in-depth than for academic accommodations.
First, you will share your accommodation requests with your RCPD specialist in writing. They are more than happy to help you brainstorm ideas for accommodations. AskJAN.org is a great resource for ideas for accommodation requests for the workplace.
Second, the RCPD specialist must determine whether an accommodation request is reasonable based on specific information about the requirements of your placement or clinical experience. Your specialist will reach out to your supervisor, course director, or other appropriate contact to learn more.
After they have been able to gather information from both the student and the program, the specialist makes a determination whether the accommodation request is “reasonable” according to the ADA.
Each determination will be determined “granted,” “granted as modified,” or “denied.” Under each determination, there will be an explanation as to how RCPD reached its determination for the accommodation.
Granted: accommodation approved as written without modification based on location
Granted as Modified: Requested accommodation modified based on factors at the clinical site, approved with the modifications specified.
Denied: Accommodation requested not approved. Alternate accommodations provided and/or student can dispute/appeal determination
Students and programs are both able to dispute a determination made through the Addendum process.
College of Human Medicine
Once you have received your completed Accommodation Letter and/or Addendum from your RCPD Specialist, share it with:
Accommodation Letter:
First year/ HM 552 & HM 553 – Dr. Lisy Colón-Berlingeri colonber@msu.edu (with cc to Dr. Brad Riley rileybd@msu.edu )
Second year/ HM 554, 555, & 556 – Dr. Cindy Arvidson arvidso3@msu.edu (with cc to Dr. Brad Riley rileybd@msu.edu)
Third and fourth year/ HM 651-655 – Your Community Assistant Dean and Dr. Kim Mitcham bainkimb@msu.edu
Clinical Accommodations (Addendum): Dr. Robin DeMuth (demuthro@msu.edu)
PCSE Accommodations
RCPD writes the accommodations for PCSE, which may require an addendum process. You should utilize accommodations you would need in a real clinical setting.
CNSE Accommodations
RCPD writes the accommodations for CSNE, but can only approve accommodations allowed by the USMLE.
STEP Exams Accommodations
*Test reports do not distinguish whether a test taker used accommodations or not.
Your RCPD specialist is available to help you prepare your application for boards testing. Visit the USMLE website to see the USMLE process.
Read this guide created by Docs with Disabilities for guidance on how to create a strong accommodation application.
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Once you have received your completed Accommodation Letter and/or Addendum from your RCPD Specialist, share it with:
Nancy Thoma, (thoman@msu.edu) for testing accommodations
Dr. Kirsten Waarala (waarala@msu.edu) for other accommodations
Dr. Susan Enright (enright4@msu.edu) for clinical accommodations
OSCE Accommodations
RCPD writes the accommodations for OCSE, which may require an addendum process. You should utilize accommodations you would need in a real clinical setting.
COMAT Accommodations
RCPD writes the accommodations for COMAT. Students must alert COM of testing accommodations 7 days prior to the COMAT.
Boards Testing Accommodations
*Test reports do not distinguish whether a test taker used accommodations or not.
Your RCPD specialist is available to help you prepare your application for boards testing.
- COMLEX: NBOME website
- STEP: USMLE website
- PANCE: NCCPA website
Read this guide created by Docs with Disabilities for guidance on how to create a strong accommodation application. It was written for the USMLE process, but the guidance on writing personal statements is applicable across tests.
College of Nursing
Once you have received your completed Accommodation Letter and/or Addendum from your RCPD Specialist, share it with your individual instructors of each of your courses.
Resources
Please reach out to the Office of Student Affairs for additional support.
NCLEX Accommodations
*Test reports do not distinguish whether a test taker used accommodations or not.
Your RCPD specialist is available to help you prepare your application for boards testing.
Accommodations are handled by state Nursing Regulatory Bodies. Michigan’s guidance can be found on their website.
College of Veterinary Medicine
Once you have received your completed Accommodation Letter and/or Addendum from your RCPD Specialist, share it with Mikaela Breslin (berning4@cvm.msu.edu)
NAVLE Accommodations
*Test reports do not distinguish whether a test taker used accommodations or not.
Your RCPD specialist is available to help you prepare your application for boards testing.
Visit the NAVLE website to see the NAVLE accommodations request process.
Resources
The Docs with Disabilities Initiative uses research, education, and sharing of stories to drive change in perceptions, disability policy, and procedures in health professions, biomedical and science education. Their aim is to build more inclusive educational environments for trainees with disabilities and increase representation of disabled clinicians and scientists in the biomedical workforce. We recommend the Docs with Disabilities Podcast!
USMLE Step Exam Accommodations Guide for guidance on how to create a strong accommodation application. It was written for the USMLE process, but the guidance on writing personal statements is applicable across tests.
Assisting Students with Crafting a Personal Statement Webinar presented by the Docs with Disabilities Initiative. The intended audience for this video is Disability Resource Professionals, such as RCPD specialists, but students should utilize it as well. It provides much of the same information as the guide above, in a video format.
Lisa Meeks MSU Presentation Fall 2023 In the fall of 2023, Dr. Lisa Meeks spoke with the MSU community about disability in medical education.
Spartan Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SADIE) is an organization hoping to advocate for students, patients, and providers with disabilities and chronic illnesses. It is through this that they hope to promote and empower patient autonomy, beneficence, and justice for individuals living with disabilities and chronic illness. They are an affiliated chapter of the national organization Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness (MSDCI)