A call to action: Preparing a disability-competent health care workforce

People with disabilities make up the largest minority population in the country, yet our health care workforce is unprepared to meet their needs. Two initiatives – and the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education’s Disability Competencies and the Resources for Integrated Care Disability-Competent Care model-provide essential tools to build a health care workforce prepared to meet the health needs of people with disabilities. We note gaps in health education and continuing education curricula, document barriers to progress, and demonstrate how the two initiatives offer a clear roadmap to effect systemic change. Finally, we issue a call to action for health care education, practice, and research to ensure a health care workforce prepared to provide quality health care to people with disabilities.