Developing an inclusive screening process for medical professionals: the importance of a specialist consultation

There is a lack of evidence for routine screening of medical trainees for dyslexia and of suitable screeners for dyslexia for medical professionals. Accurate screening can enable better support which can have a positive impact on trainee well being as well as trainee progression. Screening can also highlight the needs of International Medical Graduate (IMG) trainees who may benefit from additional language support. Working with medical professionals, we developed an innovative and inclusive dyslexia screening process for doctors in training and reviewed the process by which we screen assess doctors with dyslexia. This was a 3 - year mixed methods study; qualitative and quantitative data was collected from the dyslexia screener and case study interviews. We found that a specialist consultation adds a depth to the screening process that cannot be gained from questionnaires alone. This was particularly the case when working with highly compensated adults, and IMGs who may experience difficulties due to language issues rather than SpLDs. In the four case studies that we analysed for this project, it was found that consultations helped support the participants’’ metacognitive awareness of their learning as well as providing a space to discuss issues like stigma, disclosure and support. We advocate embedding specialist consultations as a crucial part of the screening and assessment process.