Students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) will have a new public health selective course to choose from this spring. Ableism in Healthcare was approved by the University Curriculum Committee in fall 2025, and the two-week course will welcome its first class in March 2026.
Two members of the Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation Medicine were instrumental in the development of the course: Lauren Fetsko, DO, assistant professor and director of the Spina Bifida Clinic, and Melissa Villegas, MD, assistant professor and director of the Cerebral Palsy Clinic. They care for children with complex medical needs, including cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, spina bifida, and spinal cord injury. Fetsko and Villegas are leaders in enhancing care for individuals with disabilities, and both serve on the advocacy committee of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.
Disability rights, disability identity, and access and inclusion factors lead to disparities in care. This course aims to build a conceptual framework of the problem and utilize this framework to identify and implement potential solutions. Throughout the course, Fetsko and Villegas, along with guest lecturers, will discuss the definition of disability, disability identity, the history of disability rights in the U.S., and current inaccessibility for individuals with disabilities. They will also explore resources and ways to improve accessibility and inclusion.
A public health selective is a course SMPH students can count toward their required public health credits for graduation. This aligns with the school’s commitment to integrate public health into the MD curriculum alongside basic and clinical sciences education.
Ableism in Healthcare is the second public health selective to originate in the Department of Pediatrics. Wisconsin Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) was developed by Kathleen Kastner, MD, assistant professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation Medicine. It was piloted in academic year 2023 and became an official course in academic year 2024.