2025 Fall Conference Faculty Development Keynote: Cultivating Competency: Improving Disability Access across Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Education

With the passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and the increase in post-secondary disability accommodation requests, most educational institutions understand they have a responsibility to review and grant reasonable accommodations.  But is it enough to simply have a process in place to meet basic legal requirements?  What does it mean to support learners as they simultaneously navigate the challenges of graduate medical education and the complexity of requesting accommodations across multiple environments (often for the first time)?

This session seeks to 1) clarify the responsibilities of administrators and faculty as they support students with disabilities and 2) empower institutions to uphold standards of professionalism and communication for clinicians-in-training. 

Common misconceptions, best practices, and actionable items will be explored from the unique perspective of Dr. Croteau-Chonka, a disability consultant, faculty member, research clinician, and private practitioner dual licensed and board-certified in acupuncture and herbal medicine.

Session Goals and Learning Objectives:

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to:

• identify three common gaps in accommodation policies and procedures;
• define the professional responsibilities of learners as part of the interactive process;
• choose three action items that would improve access and inclusion in their own educational environment.

About the Presenter: 

Alexia C. Croteau-Chonka is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and an NCCAOM® board-certified and licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. Dr. Croteau-Chonka graduated cum laude from Wellesley College as a dual major in Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences and Chinese Language and Literature.  She also holds a certificate in Asian and Asian American Studies with highest honors from DePaul University.

Dr. Croteau-Chonka is a graduate-level faculty member, research acupuncturist, private practice clinician, and most recently, became one of the first two acupuncturists to receive hospital privileges in the University of Illinois Health system.  She relies on decades of personal and professional experience to ask challenging questions about how our clinical intentions and priorities align with practical realities.

In both policy initiatives and private practice, Dr. Croteau-Chonka emphasizes the need for compassionate and accessible medicine that validates patient experience as a critical component for positive healthcare outcomes.  By approaching systems-based issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective, Dr. Croteau-Chonka supports institutions and individuals in re-imagining what it means to create spaces that address unmet social and health needs.

REGISTRATION

This event is for faculty and administrators from member schools only.

Member schools have been emailed the details. Faculty and administrators from member schools may also RSVP and access the webinar via the CCAHM Connect Member collaboration portal. Contact kricheimer@ccahm.org with any questions.