Deaf culture

Years ago, I was course director for a first-year medical school course on genetics and molecular biology. I was and am still an enthusiast for problem-based learning (PBL). Together with an MD colleague, I wrote up a case on hereditary deafness. It was through this process that I learned about deaf culture and the conflicts in the deaf community. 

There is a deaf community that teaches that deafness isn’t a disability but just a variation on human experience. They embrace sign language and lip reading. Other deaf people embrace cochlear implants for themselves or their kids. There is significant antipathy between these communities.

The course was on genetics and molecular biology of heredity deafness, so that was the major theme, but we used this case to teach future physicians about the cultural experiences of their future patients as well.

“Clinicians often assume deaf patients can understand spoken or written language and rely heavily on lip-reading, handwritten notes, or even family members to interpret. These communication challenges frequently lead to misdiagnosis, poor adherence to treatment recommendations, decreased trust in the healthcare system, and poorer health outcomes. Studies show that deaf individuals, when compared to hearing individuals, have higher rates of chronic disease and depression and anxiety, and are more likely to visit emergency departments than hearing individuals.”

*snip*

“The Association of American Medical Colleges' foundational competencies require that graduating medical students demonstrate strong interpersonal and communication skills and can effectively communicate with all patients, regardless of their language abilities or cultural backgrounds. However, deaf and hard-of-hearing patients are frequently left out of these grounding principles. Nearly 80% of U.S. medical schools offer at least some medical-Spanish courses or electives, but reviews of educational databases indicate that very few schools provide any formal ASL or deaf culture training for health professional students.”

We ended up having to abandon this case and PBL in order to compress the pre-clinical curriculum. I hope our students gain some exposure to the deaf community and its needs in the clinic.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/118309?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2025-11-04&mh=eb71348a5ff6ae370cc6759bc5dc3300&zdee=gAAAAABm4u1YoCP4y5SBTJUyUyqo9KxZhft26L1xeGdP0BzzQQN1Pb_ifR6vFqhFh-3U6Q_nU7DbA-EawzzXKxSRhMOwjrOGuOKbf7OE641eN0HfnK6eObE%3D&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Evening%20-%20Randomized%202025-11-04&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition

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