How are students learning to care for people with disabilities?: exploring the curriculum design of a sample of disability electives offered by US health professions schools.

Many healthcare professionals do not feel confident in caring for people with disabilities, and a lack of disability-specific training is likely contributing to this lack of confidence.Disability electives fill an important gap in disability-specific training at some health professions schools.Future research should focus on content standardization, assessment of student learning, and ensuring that people with disabilities are involved in elective design and instruction.An improved understanding of disability electives will assist with the development of future disability-related training for health professions students.