Are applicants with disabilities considered URM?

[Suprachiasmatik]

Well, are they?

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[whitwhit]

I wouldn't think so, since being disabled as relatively nothing to do with your ethnicity or descent. However, I do believe that disabled people have the same rights as everyone, and accommodation should be provided.

 

[Suprachiasmatik]

I wouldn't think so, since being disabled as relatively nothing to do with your ethnicity or descent. However, I do believe that disabled people have the same rights as everyone, and accommodation should be provided.

Actually, in my case, my disability is very much related to my racial background.

 

[unicornshadow888]

Actually, in my case, my disability is very much related to my racial background.

How so? I understand that certain ethnic groups have a greater burden of certain conditions than others, but URM is strictly based on race and ethnicity. So, basically, according to the AAMC definition, you're considered URM if you're Black, Hispanic, Native American, etc., and not because of disability status. However, you probably should list your disability status on your application (just not under anything regarding URM status).

https://www.aamc.org/download/54278/data/urm.pdf
Underrepresented in Medicine Definition - Initiatives - AAMC

 

[whitwhit]

Actually, in my case, my disability is very much related to my racial background.

If you do not mind me asking, do you mean it is genetically related? I would love to learn more about what you mean...

 

[Suprachiasmatik]

If you do not mind me asking, do you mean it is genetically related? I would love to learn more about what you mean...

My disability is largely explained by my genetics.

 

[scaredadvocate]

I think we need to stop using this "considered URM" language. It's not like once a person is "considered URM" they get an URM stamp on their application and there's some instant universal boost. It's not that black and white.

Being a minority, overcoming socioeconomic odds, overcoming a disability, being undocumented, etc are all life experiences that are not adequately represented in medicine AND their proper representation would improve the field.

Each school and each admissions committee member has different things they value and different ways they work to improve this representation. While not fitting the AAMC definition of URM, someone with a disability's life experiences and perspective would probably be valued in a medical school class. How strongly each school values it? It varies. Just like it varies for Black, Latinx, undocumented and LGBTQ applicants.

 

[Lucca]

As a fellow disabled person, I have to say that the most critical thing about disclosing your disability should be that it doesn't raise any eyebrows about meeting the school's technical standards (can be found online, pretty general to all schools). It's ****ty but even if your disability will in no way impact your medical school performance, things like sight and movement disabilities might raise eyebrows at medical schools and that has led me to choose not to disclose my disability to med schools. I don't know if there is any advantage in being labeled as such or not in admissions.

A bit off topic but I felt the need to say it:
I also agree with the above poster. This is a forum for POC and we shouldn't be playing the same word games with URM labels that the other pre med and med boards do on SDN by trying to indiscriminately apply "boosts" or talk about "advantages". Minorities in this country (indeed and people of color overseas) have been exploited for its entire history to create the richest country in the world and we have a hugely inequitable healthcare system that the typical successful premed student wants to do nothing to fix. There is not "more qualified" or "less qualified", only "qualified" and while we should recognize the ways that this process is different for minorities, we should not use language that encourages myths of white oppression.