Areas of UCD medical school ‘inadequate’ for students with disability

Catherine Reilly examines findings from a recent Medical Council accreditation visit to University College Dublin’s School of Medicine   

The School of Medicine at University College Dublin (UCD) must commission an independent review of accessibility for students with physical disabilities. The requirement was outlined in a recent Medical Council accreditation report.

The review of the accessibility of infrastructure “should be actioned within six months of the approval of this report”, it stated.

According to the Council’s report, dated April 2026, accessibility in “some learning and teaching spaces was reported as being inadequate for some students with physical disabilities”.

Additionally, concerns were raised regarding “a lack of forward planning for various learning activities in relation to accessibility”.

“Management indicated during discussions that, once made aware of specific accessibility issues, they take steps to address them and endeavour to provide appropriate solutions.”

The School “actively advocates” for the needs of students, stated the report. “The School of Medicine has linked with the UCD Access and Lifelong Learning office regarding putting reasonable accommodations in place (rooms, facilities and clinical training sites used by students with accessibility issues). At times, it was reported that accessibility issues are not known until the student arrives at the location.”

The report also said that School management “demonstrates a strong commitment” to the advancement of equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI). “Multiple students provided detailed accounts of excellent support services and reasonable accommodations.” The management team “indicated that staff demonstrate a strong understanding” of the importance of EDI. There are also EDI student ambassadors present across clinical sites. According to the report, the  School should “increase awareness” of EDI and reasonable accommodations through developmental initiatives across the staff and faculty. “This should be implemented by September 2026.”

Visit

The Medical Council is responsible for accrediting Irish medical schools and medical degree programmes. This recent accreditation visit to UCD was conducted at the university’s request, according to the report. The second phase of the accreditation is scheduled to take place in October. 

On 13–14 April, the Council’s assessor team met with School management, academic staff, clinical staff, and students. The inspection entailed several private meetings with students from all stages of the undergraduate-entry and graduate-entry medicine programmes, in addition to meetings with the clinical tutors, academic staff, and student support staff. It also included an inspection of the facilities and observation of teaching.

UCD School of Medicine has been developing a new curriculum (Medicine 2030), which will be launched in the 2026/2027 academic session. When discussing the new curriculum, senior staff advised that professionalism will be “embedded as a vertical theme” across all years.

Under the revised curriculum, failure to meet the required standards of professionalism may result in failure to progress. In contrast, within the current curriculum, a “discrepancy” was noted in the teaching of professionalism between the pre-clinical and clinical years. There is a stronger emphasis in the clinical years on the teaching and modelling of professional behaviour, including its incorporation into assessment.

The report noted that the School “demonstrates areas of good practice within this domain”, including the early introduction of professionalism to first year students. However, medical students at this early stage of training “would benefit from a more structured and focused session” addressing all aspects of professional communication, appropriate use of social media, and the principles of confidentiality and consent. “In addition, a review of the timing of these elements may be beneficial. Students indicated certain aspects would be more beneficial if emphasised prior to the commencement of clinical placements.”

For undergraduate-entry students, the School should “enhance its focus” on aspects of digital professionalism, such as communication skills, at the early stage of training. This should be completed before the start of the 2026/2027 academic year.

A Medical Council spokesperson told the Medical Independent (MI): “In relation to professionalism, no substantive concerns were identified. Students spoke positively about the quality of professionalism teaching overall. However, they suggested that the focus in the early years could be better tailored, with greater emphasis on communication skills and the appropriate use of social media.”

“They also indicated that aspects of ‘clinical professionalism’ would be more appropriately delivered closer to the commencement of clinical rotations. In particular, some topics currently taught in year one may be better positioned in year three immediately prior to students beginning their clinical placements.”

Assessments

Students reported inconsistencies in the timing and delivery of feedback in formative and summative assessments across all years. “To effectively support student learning, progression and examination performance, the School of Medicine should ensure that feedback is timely, structured and provided within an appropriate timeframe to facilitate remediation and improvement,” according to the report.

Both students and staff reported that students are aware of the progression requirements between academic years, as well as the criteria necessary for graduation.

Senior management reported that a representative of the progression board, or a nominated delegate, meets with individual students whose progression has raised concerns. “A tailored plan which includes support measures is agreed with the students.”

Some students raised concern regarding the extenuating circumstances process, such as delays in receiving a decision. “Faculty have noted that the current approach of the extenuating circumstances committee has limitations in terms of timeliness, responsiveness and restriction to three submission opportunities per academic year.”

A new UCD policy covering extenuating circumstances is due to be introduced in September.

Representation and wellbeing

The class representative system was “functioning effectively” and students reported feeling “listened to” by School staff. Overall, the School was “described as highly receptive to student feedback”.

The report noted the existence of a range of student health and wellbeing supports. However, some students reported difficulties in accessing these services, primarily due to challenges locating relevant information on the School website. Students noted delays in accessing university counselling services, with waiting times of between one and three months in some cases, “although urgent cases are prioritised and addressed more promptly.”

“It should also be noted that students reported that alternative arrangements for accessing counselling services had been provided in certain situations.”

The UCD Counselling Service indicated there was “no perceived need for a School of Medicine-specific counselling provision”; however, a dedicated service for international students “may be beneficial”.

The School has a process in place for supporting students in distress. “Staff are provided with a framework, including a guidance document outlining procedures to follow when a student is in distress outside of normal working hours. Training is available to staff on responding to students in distress; while this training is not mandatory, a number of School of Medicine staff have completed it.”

The Students’ Union provides student representatives with training on how to respond when a student approaches them in distress. An online bystander training module is also available to all students. Student representatives noted that additional training focused on providing mental and emotional support to their peers “would be beneficial”.

The report said students also “consistently reported” the absence of a pastoral tutor support system. “The Dean’s commitment to rolling out a pastoral tutor system, alongside the academic tutor system from September 2026, is welcomed and is expected to provide significant benefit to the overall student experience. As with academic counselling, this roll-out should include years two and three of the current curriculum.”

Policies

According to the report, the School acknowledged that some of its policies had been “tested recently”, highlighting gaps and the need for clearer processes, including in relation to crisis communication.

The School was “in a reflective phase”, with working groups reviewing policies and developing structures aimed at ensuring stakeholders are kept “informed and engaged”.

In a written response to MI, Dean and Head of School Prof Patrick Mallon stated: “The School takes every Medical Council inspection very seriously and we will be working on implementing the Medical Council’s recommendations.”

He said the School and the university “remain fully committed” to its EDI objectives for students and staff.