Witten/Herdecke University is committed to more inclusion in medicine

Medical care for people with disabilities is still not an integral part of medical studies in Germany. Witten/Herdecke University is one of the few institutions doing pioneering work in this area! At the Day of Social Medicine, students on the degree programme in medicine deal with the topic: they develop an understanding of the needs of people with disabilities and acquire skills to make our healthcare more inclusive.

Prof Dr Carsten Rensinghoff gives prospective doctors an insight into the topic of "People with disabilities in medical consultations". The professor of curative education speaks from his own experience: following an accident at the age of twelve, he has left-sided spasticity and knows the challenges in the healthcare system first-hand. Today, he is committed to disability-friendly medicine and the interests and rights of people with disabilities in general.

This is where the remedial paedagogue sees the biggest problems:

• Doctors who do not treat their patients as equals and do not recognise them as experts on their own disability.
• Standardised care: disregard for individual characteristics and treatment wishes
• Low awareness of the Supplementary Independent Participation Counselling (EUTB): Many doctors are not aware of it and do not make their patients aware of the service. Peer support offers valuable counselling and support from those affected for those affected.
• Lack of accessibility in surgeries and clinics

The Social Medicine Day takes place regularly for medical students in their seventh semester and is organised by Prof. Dr. Frank C. Mooren, Chair of Rehabilitation Sciences at the UW/H and Medical Director of the DRV Klinik Königsfeld.