|
|
“Homework” for Future Students with Disabilities
Going to nursing school doesn’t have to be an impossible dream
just because you have a disability. The key is knowing what will be
expected of you, knowing your options and knowing your rights.
By Donna Carol Maheady, EdD, CPNP, RN, and Susan E. Fleming, BSN,
RN
Students with disabilities are increasing in number at nursing schools
throughout the world. Although they may initially encounter discrimination
and other obstacles, students with hearing loss, vision loss, paralysis,
learning disabilities, mental illness, chronic illness, limb differences
and other disabilities have not only been admitted to nursing programs
but have successfully completed them.
If you are someone who loves helping others, nursing is one of the
most rewarding careers you could consider. But if you are also a person
with a disability, there is important “homework” to do before
you make the decision to become a nurse. Nursing is a physically and
emotionally demanding educational experience and profession. As you
complete your homework, make a list of the pros and cons. Your decision
shouldn’t be based on what you “think” a nurse does or
what you viewed on a television program. The best way to find out what
nurses do is to spend some time with nurses. Learn as much as possible
about a nurse’s responsibilities and the technical skills that
nurses and nursing students typically perform.
You can gather this information by talking to nurses and nursing students,
observing nurses at work, volunteering in a clinic or hospital, spending
a day on the job with a nurse or working a part-time job in a health
care facility. Doing volunteer work with a nurse at a camp for children
with special needs or at a clinic for the homeless can also provide
great insights. High school students should consider joining the future
nurses organization at their school or taking a health occupations course
and joining a chapter of the Health Occupations Students of America.
Additional information about what is involved in nursing careers can
be obtained from colleges, universities, technical schools, libraries,
nursing journals, nursing associations and the Internet. Some helpful
Internet sites to visit include:
Begin networking with nurses, nursing students or other health care
professionals who have a disability similar to yours. Ask these contacts
about their experiences and about accommodations that helped them succeed.
Find a nurse or student who can mentor you. Do a library search and
read all you can about the experiences of other nursing students with
disabilities.
Know your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act. Be knowledgeable about reasonable accommodations
and the differences in legal protections for students with disabilities
in high school and in college—i.e., the differences between IDEA,
ADA and Section 504.
Keep abreast of new programs and developing technology, such as standing
wheelchairs that will enhance mobility for nurses who use wheelchairs.
Clear surgical face masks will allow a nurse to read lips when other
members of the surgical team are wearing masks. (The development of
clear face mask products is being monitored closely by the AMPHL.) The
University of Salford, in England, opened the first nursing program
for students who are deaf.
Understanding Admissions Standards
Another important part of your homework is learning about the different
educational options available to prospective nursing students and about
how to navigate the nursing school admissions process.
There are several different types of nursing programs offered. Registered
nurses (RNs) are educated in baccalaureate degree programs (Bachelor
of Science in Nursing), two-year associate degree programs and three-year
hospital diploma programs (rare in the United States). Licensed practical
nurses (LPNs) are educated in technical schools and community colleges.
In general, a BSN program is usually less focused on technical skills.
There are no universal standards for admission to nursing programs,
and requirements under state Nursing Practice Acts can vary from state
to state. Furthermore, admission decisions can differ from program to
program and can be dramatically inconsistent. The same student can be
rejected at one school and welcomed at another. Decisions will be made
on a case-by-case basis.
Some nursing programs have technical or core performance standards.
Examples may include critical thinking, interpersonal skills and communication,
mobility, motor skills, hearing, visual and tactile skills. Other programs
may have more specific standards, such as being able to lift 25 pounds,
physical ability to perform CPR, hearing ability to understand normal
speech without viewing the speaker’s face, and manual dexterity
to draw up solutions in a syringe.
It is important to recognize that even though you may have a career
goal of working in an area of nursing that does not require direct patient
care—such as case management, research or teaching—you must
still complete nursing courses that will require you to demonstrate
a wide range of technical skills, including some that you may not plan
to use after you graduate.
If you will need accommodations for your disability in nursing school—such
as special equipment, a sign language interpreter, books on audiotape
or someone to take notes for you—you will need to provide documentation
from your physician, audiologist, psychologist or other health care
professional.
Above all, be prepared, be prepared and be prepared. Anticipate a wide
range of responses to your disability from administrators, faculty,
other students and patients. To deny that you may meet with a negative
attitude or response isn’t being fair to yourself or realistic.
The important thing is to move forward with your head held high.
Rehearse Your Responses
Mentally rehearse responses to questions you may be asked during nursing
school admissions interviews. Always focus on your positive attributes,
previous accomplishments and life experiences. Be professional and enthusiastic.
Practice interviewing by having someone role-play with you.
You may be asked about how you will perform technical skills with or
without accommodations. Some skills you may not be familiar with. Be
honest in your responses. Keep the following examples of questions and
answers in mind as you plan for interviews.
- A student who uses a wheelchair might be asked, “How will you
perform CPR?”
Sample answer: “First, I will call for help, which is the first
recommendation of the American Heart Association when working with
adults. Then, I will get up out of my wheelchair. It’s not something
that I use all the time; in an emergency like CPR, I would not use
the wheelchair.”
- A student with one hand might be asked, “How will you give
an injection?”
Sample answer: “I have developed excellent compensatory abilities
and can be creative when learning new skills. I learned to tie my
shoes with one hand when I was four years old. When I am required
to learn or demonstrate how to give an injection, I will seek extra
assistance from the laboratory instructor and practice different methods.”
- A student with low vision might be asked, “How will you read
a medical chart?”
Sample answer: “I will use an optical reading aid.”
- A student with a back injury and lifting restrictions might be asked,
“How will you make a bed or turn a patient in bed?”
Sample answer: “I will ask a colleague/peer for help. In return,
I will negotiate work that I can do to help my colleague/peer out.”
- A student with hearing loss might be asked, “How will you hear
a patient’s beeping monitor?”
Sample answer: “I’ve never worked in a hospital. I don’t
know if I will be able to hear the monitors. I may need assistive
technology that will activate my vibrating pager when a monitor beeps.”
- A student with hearing loss may also be asked, “Will you be
able to hear the sound of a needle penetrating a patient’s skin?”
Answer: “No, I won’t be able to.” (You may be asked
this type of question to see if you will respond honestly.)
These examples are not meant to be verbatim responses that applicants
should use, unless the response is appropriate. They are included simply
as examples of answers that are honest and show that the applicant has
researched or thought about the topic.
Go For It!
The future promises to find more and more nurses with disabilities
working successfully in this exciting and fulfilling profession. Nurses
can practice in a wide variety of settings, such as telephone triage,
nursing education, home care, legal nurse consulting, case management,
hospital nursing, school nursing, camp nursing, travel nursing, parish
nursing, research and more. If you know in your heart that nursing is
what you want to do, then do your homework...and go for it!
Today’s nursing workforce needs practitioners from a diverse range
of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to meet the needs of an
increasingly diverse patient population, both in the U.S. and around
the world. We need you in the ranks of nursing professionals, where
you will be a vital part of the health care team. Through your unique
contributions and strengths, you will enrich patient care, share your
gifts and experiences, and add greater harmony to our profession.
Donna Carol Maheady, EdD, CPNP, RN, is an adjunct assistant professor
of nursing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and founder
of www. ExceptionalNurse.com. Susan E. Fleming, BSN, RN, is a staff
nurse at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., and an adjunct
clinical instructor at Washington State University Intercollegiate College
of Nursing. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the
University of Washington.
References
1. Bueche, M.N, and Haxton, D. (1983). “The Student with a Hearing
Loss: Coping Strategies.” Nurse Educator, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 7-11.
2. Chickadonz, G.H., Beach, E.K., and Fox, J.A. (1983). “Breaking
Barriers: Educating a Deaf Nursing Student.” Nursing Health Care,
Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 327-333.
3. Creamer, B. (2003). “Wheelchair Fails to Deter Paraplegic
from Nurse’s Life.” The Honolulu Advertiser. Available at
the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Dec/28/ln/ln10a.html.
4. Eliason, M. (1992). “Nursing Students with Learning Disabilities:
Appropriate Accommodations.” Journal of Nursing Education, Vol.
31, No. 8, pp. 375-376.
5. Huyer, S. (2003). “The Gift of ADD.” Advance for Nurse
Practitioners, Vol. 11, No. 4, p. 92.
6. Kolanko, K. (2003). “A Collective Case Study of Nursing Students
with Learning Disabilities.” Nursing Education Perspectives, Vol.
24, No. 5, pp. 251-256.
7. Maheady, D. (1999). “Jumping Through Hoops, Walking on Eggshells:
The Experiences of Nursing Students with Disabilities.” Journal
of Nursing Education, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 162-170.
8. Pischke-Winn, K., Andreoli, K., and Halstead, L. (2003). Students
with Disabilities: Nursing Education and Practice (Proceedings Manual).
Rush University College of Nursing. Available at www.rushu.rush.edu/nursing/studisable.html.
9. Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), Public Law, No. 101-336,
42 U.S.C. 12101.
10. Matt, S.B. (2003). “Reasonable Accommodation: What Does the
Law Really Require?” Journal of the Association of Medical Professionals
with Hearing Losses, Vol. 1, No. 3.
Editor’s Note: In the Summer 2005 issue of Minority Nurse,
the authors will examine what nursing schools can do to make their programs
more welcoming to students with disabilities and to help these minority
students become successful members of the nursing profession.
Information Central: Additional Resources
Organizations:
The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care provides a newsletter for HIV+
nurses and students.
www.anacnet.org/programs_pubs-hivnurse.php
NOISE (Network for Overcoming Increased Silence Effectively) is a listserv
and support forum for medical professionals and students with any degree
of hearing loss. www.amphl.org/noise.html
The Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet) is the national
collaboration of the four Regional Postsecondary Education Centers for
Individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. PEPNet’s mission
is to assist postsecondary educational institutions in attracting and
effectively serving persons with hearing disabilities.
www.pepnet.org
Books:
Maheady, D. (2003). Nursing Students with Disabilities: Change the
Course. (River Edge, N.J.: Exceptional Parent Press.) This book showcases
the success stories of eight nursing students with various disabilities
who graduated and are now practicing as nurses. www.eplibrary.com
Serdans, B. (2002). I’m Moving On. . .Are U? (Philadelphia: Xlibris
Corporation.)
The author is a nurse with dystonia, a movement disorder. This book
shares her journey of living and practicing nursing with a disability.
Available from http://care4dystonia.org
or Amazon.com.
Equipment and Technology:
A blood pressure gauge that can be used with one hand is available
at www.Stethoscopes.com.
An amplified electronic stethoscope (E-Scope) for use by nurses with
hearing loss is available from Cardionics, www.cardionics.com.
A “talking thermometer” that provides an audio announcement
of temperature (along with a digital display) can be purchased at www.sightconnection.com.
A pressure-sensitive stethoscope for people with hearing loss is available
from Ultrascopes, www.ultrascopes.com.
Back to top of page
|
