Name
Improving Accessibility in Medical Education Materials through a Faculty Development Initiative
Authors

Gia DiGiacobbe, Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
Delores Amorelli, Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
Nicole Lawson, Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine

Date & Time
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 1:45 PM - 1:59 PM
Presentation Category
Career & Professional Development
Description

Purpose
As the number of medical students with disabilities increases, institutions must ensure accessibility in both physical environments and educational resources. While training often covers creating accessible materials, guidance is lacking on remediating existing content. To address this gap, we developed an interactive, hands-on training series for faculty and staff.

Methods
In collaboration with Instructional Design, the Office of Medical Education, and the Departments of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, we launched the "Accessibility in the Curriculum" initiative. Participants first completed a 1-hour asynchronous module covering accessibility principles and Section 508 compliance. This was followed by a 2-hour live session with accessibility experts, where small groups practiced remediating sample Word documents and PowerPoint presentations, and learned strategies for making PDFs accessible. The session concluded with participants sharing experiences and learning how to add closed captioning to already existing videos.

Results
A total of 98 individuals from multiple departments participated. The training was well received, and many content creators have since applied the skills to improve previously developed materials, resulting in a more accessible curriculum for students with disabilities.

Conclusion
This initiative equipped faculty and staff with practical tools to remediate existing materials, eliminating the need to recreate content and significantly enhancing curriculum accessibility for all learners.