Enhancing Course Accessibility through Inclusive Curricular Design & Instruction

Dr. Kristina H. Petersen is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at New York Medical College. Her scholarly work includes manuscripts and book chapters on medical education innovations, inclusive instruction, disability curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities. A chapter in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health provides a framework for dismantling barriers to increase access and support the inclusion of physicians with disabilities. In 2022, she co-authored a research article highlighting barriers faced by medical students who receive institutional accommodations but are denied accommodations on the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1. She and her team are implementing and evaluating a longitudinal disability curriculum that aims to provide long overdue education to students and current physicians in the hopes of ameliorating health disparities. In 2023, she co-authored a chapter intended for use within disabilities curriculum: Cases on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Health Professions Educator.

Dr. Petersen has led webinars for many groups including the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Building Better Curriculum series and the American Medical Association (AMA) Medical Student Committee on Disability Affairs. She is also a co-creator of course modules to support the enhancement of accessibility within the Accreditation Committee for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Academy online video repository. In 2022, Dr. Petersen received an award for Excellence in Scholarly Work in Disability Inclusion from the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education. She is especially passionate about teaching students and was honored to receive the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award in 2022. She is a 2023-2024 Alpha Omega Alpha Fellow in Leadership.