Disability in Medicine - A Conversation with Beth Dillon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36399/Surgo.1.301Abstract
There are 9 characteristics protected under
the UK Equality Act 2010 - Disability is one
of them.
“Disability” is a broad umbrella
encompassing a multitude of conditions.
People with disabilities and other protected
characteristics, should receive equity in
opportunities to learn and thrive in
Education – this is known as “Inclusive
Education”.
Dr Beth Dillon graduated in 2023 and I
caught up with her to learn a little bit more
of her time in University of Glasgow Medical
School, through the lens of a student – now a
doctor - with disabilities.
Hi Beth. Thank you for taking the time to
chat about this with me. Are you
comfortable sharing your disability?
The main disabilities which affect me day to
day are Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. I'm also
deaf and have a visual impairment.
Did you disclose your disability to your
peers and Medical School?
I did disclose to the medical school and
disability services prior to starting as was
aware that I may need some additional
support in my studies. It is also not entirely
invisible so I felt like there wasn't really a
choice. With peers I tend to drip feed them
when I first meet people. Generally people
are curious and my hearing aids are pretty
visible so that's usually the first thing I am
asked about. This is unless I am using my
crutches - then I get a lot more questions.
Otherwise I tend to let people know when
we are planning things. I can't really walk
very far at all, and I am not very fast so it
usually comes up. Now I feel I only really
mention it if it's relevant to something we
are doing or if I am asked about it. I am
more than happy to answer questions,
however I usually feel awkward being the
one to bring it up.
What challenges did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
There were lots of challenges at medical
school!
Zoom was a bit of a nightmare in COVID
initially it didn't have captions at all and
even now they are wildly inaccurate with
Scottish accents. I therefore didn't hear
the majority of Phase 3 lectures and then
any subsequent ones on zoom. I enquired
about moving small group teaching onto
Teams as the captions are always
significantly better and was told this
wasn't possible. This was frustrating and in
the end I stopped logging on and just spent
time going through power points and
content surrounding it. It didn't take long before I was just choosing
which battles to fight and which to just do
the best I could with the situation.
Hearing became a lot better with placement,
I could go back to using my radio aid (a
device which streams speech to my hearing
aids) but there were still challenges with
masks.
Placement however I struggled with on a
mobility perspective. It also was difficult
because as part of my JIA, I get frequent high
fevers - so getting up in the mornings if I
spent the night feverish - was tricky.
Attendance was an ongoing issue. I missed
all of Phase 2 MSK due to being in hospital.
However this was pretty easy to catch up
with and have found placement to not be a
big issue as long as I was engaged when
there and/or make up the time and have
open conversations with supervisors.
That sounds tough. Were there any upside
to being a medical student with a disability?
Generally I feel like the main upside is
empathy. I feel you can better understand
the emotions that come with being in
hospital and the pure exhaustion of having
to fight for your needs to be met. I think it
also gives you a more flexible mindset of
realizing that a situation may not be perfect
but can be worked around and improved. I
also find it makes you more likely to be less
cynical and to believe patients when you
qualify so less likely to miss things.
Overall though I feel like having a disability
is neutral in a way.
That’s such an inspiring and mature take
on what must be a challenging situation.
Thank you. Tell us a little about the award
winning LUNA Project and why you
started this charity (while being a busy
medical student!).
The LUNA project is a charity set up by two
of my peers and I, which works to increase
support for young people aged 13-30. We
do this through disability education in
primary and secondary schools (start them
young!), the creation of resources actually
aimed at this age group instead of the little
kid resources or those aimed at older
people with no in between. We also run
blogs, create micro resources and
collaborate with lots of other charities and
organizations. We've done lots of
workshops at conferences and
organizations aimed at those working with
young people. We are entirely led by under
30s and anyone with any ideas are all
welcome to join!
Bravo!! Any particular positive / negative
event stand out during your medical
school years?
Collapsing in anatomy and spending the
subsequent 6 weeks having a QEUH
“vacation” definitely tops the list as the
most negative event! Overall though I
really enjoyed medical school!
How have you found FY1 so far?
I am loving F1! I was in Haematology for my
first job which I absolutely loved and was
also great for my rubbish immune systemI am now on acute admissions, which I have
enjoyed less but I do really like the people I
work with. I move to A&E in a few weeks,
which I am really looking forward to!! I also
find it easier being able to finish a day and
not having to go home and study even if
there is a cap on sick days!
What next for Dr Dillon?
Oh I have no idea what is next. I am just
taking things as they come!
Have you any wise words to say to the
medical students who are living with a
disability?
Just because you might do something
differently doesn't mean you are doing it
wrong!