Event Description

This presentation explored the lived experience of developing new-onset profound hearing loss during medical school and the challenges of continuing medical training while adapting to a sudden disability. It highlighted the intersection of identity, accessibility, and clinical education, including the practical and emotional realities of seeking diagnosis, accommodations, and assistive technologies such as cochlear implantation. The session also reflected on broader implications for medical education, emphasizing the importance of inclusive learning environments, disability advocacy, and systemic changes that support trainees with disabilities without compromising professional development.

 

Speaker

Sriprachodaya (Prachi) Gaddam, BS, is a fourth-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine currently completing a research fellowship in otolaryngology at Mount Sinai. She is applying to otolaryngology residency this year. She is a cochlear implant recipient and has developed a scholarly and advocacy interest in disability in medicine, particularly as it relates to navigating medical education with sensory loss. Her work includes writing on physician identity and disability, presenting on accessibility in clinical training, and contributing to ongoing research and educational initiatives aimed at improving inclusivity for trainees with disabilities

 

She has an MST in Education, and is a certified ADA Coordinator through the Great Plains ADA Center at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions Disability Studies and Policy Center.

 

Meeting Agenda

Program introduction/announcements from DM3P leadership: 15 min.

Presentation: 45 min

Large group discussion and Q/A: 30 min