Planning for Success
Donna C. Maheady, ARNP, EdD

Siena is a 30-year-old wife and mother who will be attending nursing school at a university in the fall. She has excellent grades and strong family support. She also happens to have a significant hearing loss. What steps should she and other students with disabilities take?

What to Do

If you have a disability and had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in high school, do not assume that a college or university will provide the same accommodations. In high school, the school district was responsible for providing necessary support services that you needed to encourage your full participation in the educational process. Your nursing program does not have the same legal obligation. The college or university is required, by law, to provide any reasonable accommodation that may be necessary for you to have equal access to opportunities available to students without disabilities. If you need accommodations, you need to make the request.¹ The nursing program is under no obligation to seek you out. It’s your responsibility to be aware of your legal rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act² and the Rehabilitation Act.³

Get Organized

• Gather letters documenting your disability from your physician, audiologist, or psychologist. If you request accommodations, the Office of Students with Disabilities will request documentation.
• Assemble information about your disability to share with your professors and the dean or director of the nursing program. Explain your disability and discuss accommodations you may need.
• If you will need special equipment, such as an amplified stethoscope or listening device, start exploring options early.
• If a sign language interpreter will be attending classes with you, tell your professors beforehand.
• If you will need to tape record lectures, ask the professor for permission before classes begin.
• Meet with professors before the beginning of classes, whenever possible. Call or send e-mails to professors explaining your disability and the accommodations you may need. Face-to-face contact is always best. Pick up a copy of the course syllabus, and buy textbooks as early as possible. Get a head start on the reading and assignments.
• Visit the nursing practice laboratory. Introduce yourself to the lab instructor. Examine the equipment, and tour the facility.

Where to Turn

Early on, meet with the staff at the Office for Students with Disability and discuss accommodations, such as a sign language interpreter, note taker, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services, tutor, remote controls for doors, special parking sticker, computer programs, talking calculators, Optacon reading device for the blind, or accessible dormitory room. Make your request as soon as possible. The school may need to be hire staff or obtain services. Ask about ways to meet other nursing students with disabilities. Ask if there is a campus mentor program and about other services offered.

Visit the university health office to inform the nursing staff about your disability and any special healthcare needs. Visit the campus counseling office as well. Inquire about services and hours of operation.

Log On

The Internet offers additional opportunities for nursing students with disabilities to obtain information and connect with others. Examples include —

Advocacy —

The George Washington University HEATH Resource Center is a clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities — www.heath.gwu.edu.

Legal Resources —

• Americans with Disabilities Act offers information for people with disabilities.
• Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education explains how to report educational discrimination, request information on civil rights compliance programs, and procedures for filing discrimination complaints, and access civil rights regulatory and policy documents.

Organizations —

• The Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses offers information and networking for individuals with hearing losses.
• ExceptionalNurse.com is a resource network for nursing students and nurses with disabilities. It provides information on organizations, technology, equipment, mentors, financial aid, employment, legal resources, and related articles.
• Promoting Awareness in Healthcare, Medical and Deaf is an organization of medical students, healthcare providers, medical school faculty, and advocates.

Books

• The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction developed the Planning for Life After High School handbook for students with disabilities. It features info on what to expect and how to prepare.
• Nursing students with disabilities, including hearing loss, paralysis, scoliosis, diabetes, and Crohn’s disease share their stories in Nursing Students with Disabilities Change the Course, by Donna Maheady, available at www.eplibrary.com.
• Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic provides taped books, books on diskette, and library services to individuals who cannot read standard print because of a visual, physical, or perceptual disability.

Equipment and Technology

Stethoscopes: An electronic stethoscope is available for people with hearing loss from Cardionics. A pressure sensitive stethoscope for people with hearing loss is available from Ultrascopes.

Blood Pressure Gauge: A one-hand blood pressure gauge with a pump and dial can be manipulated with one hand is available at www.Stethoscopes.com.

Thermometer: Talking thermometers that provide an audio announcement and digital display of temperature are available at www.sightconnection.com.

Scholarships

• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing — www.agbell.org.
• American Council on the Blind — www.acb.org.
• ExceptionalNurse.com — www.exceptionalnurse.com/ scholarship.html.
• National Federation of the Blind — www.nfb.org.
• Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation — www.ela.org.
• National Center for Learning Disabilities — www.ld.org.

Why Do This?

The key to success lies in being prepared and organized. Nursing school can be stressful for all students. Having a disability can make the journey even more challenging. But with advance planning and preparation, you will be on the path to success!

Donna Carol Maheady, CPNP, EdD, is an adjunct assistant professor in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. She is the founder of the nonprofit website www.ExceptionalNurse.com and the author of Nursing Students with Disabilities Change the Course.

References

1. How to Choose a College: Guide for the Student with a Disability. Columbus, OH: Association on Higher Education and Disability and the Heath Resource Center, American Council on Education; 1997.

2. Americans with Disabilities Act. Public Law, No.101-336, 42 U.S.C. 12101; 1990.

3. Rehabilitation Act , P.L. 93-112, Title 5, Section 504, 87 Stat., 355 29 VSC, Section 794; 1973.