Residency Match for Applicants With Disability

To the Editor Studying medicine and becoming a physician are complex tasks and are more difficult when done in a low- and middle-income country and when having a physical disability. Even in the United States, less than 1% of medical students have a disability, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. In their Research Letter, Ms Nguyen and colleagues suggested that future studies regarding applicants with disability may identify “successful strategies” for equitable evaluation and matching of these applicants. A strong and appropriate program of mentorship could be a “successful strategy” for medical students with disability. Due to a motor vehicle crash that damaged my spinal cord, I became paraplegic at the age of 2 years. In my case, in addition to good academic performance, the role of strong mentorship was key to my academic and professional achievements. My journey with my mentors began from the first interview in my application to medical school. During my interview with the founding dean of my alma mater, I waited for the question about how I would face medical studies with a physical disability; however, I was never asked this question. Instead, my interview provided reaffirmation and empowerment. The dean took his PalmPilot out of his pocket and told me, “When you become a doctor, you will review the results of your patients’ exams on this device.” This gesture taught me that a good mentor is someone who affirms and encourages their mentees to develop their full potential despite barriers they face. Formal mentoring programs are an infrequent practice in institutions located in low- and middle-income countries; there is a tendency to erroneously confuse tasks of tutoring, supervision, or thesis direction as “mentoring.” Fortunately, this was not the case at my alma mater. Each incoming student was assigned a career mentor, which led me to meet an extraordinary Ecuadorian physician specializing in epidemiology. The aspects of my interactions with this mentor that I valued the most were (1) “horizontal” treatment from the very beginning, which stimulated a friendly and open atmosphere of dialogue without any kind of hierarchy; (2) the reliability and example of an honest, inspiring, and investing mentor; and (3) mutual benefit that has led us to generate impactful evidence for our home country and beyond. Those elements make the mentor-mentee relationship a powerful and catalytic dyad, especially for students with a disability like me.