Dyslexic doctors, an observation on current United Kingdom practice

Issue: Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty with an estimated prevalence of ten percent within the general population and two percent among junior doctors training in the United Kingdom. Despite dyslexia being common, there are still many challenges sufferers face in modern medical practice.

Evidence: Multiple case studies have found there to be barriers that dyslexic doctors face throughout their training. Common activities that required reading or writing in time pressured situations in front of an audience can impose an additional pressure for dyslexic doctors. In addition to the difficulties with day to day work, criticism and mockery from other staff members can make suffers of dyslexia feel undermined. From personal experiences, the authors of this article have found barriers are particularly present with regards to sitting post- graduate examinations and getting support in a modern time pressure health service.

Implications: The discrepancy in the prevalence of learning difficulties between the general population and doctors in training might be due to barriers in training and difficulties when starting work. Addressing challenges will help support current dyslexic doctors and also help support future generations. Rapidly developing technology in health care makes it easier to accommodate doctors with additional needs but the impact of this are yet to be studied. If the barriers are addressed it is likely to support not only doctors with dyslexia diagnosis but all health care professionals.