Saturday, April 13, 2019

Examples of reasonable accommodations for nursing students with disabilities




Often nursing students with disabilities ask, "What accommodations or adjustments can I request?" Some students are unaware of what is possible. 

"The appropriate academic adjustment must be determined based on your disability and individual needs. Academic adjustments may include auxiliary aids and services, as well as modifications to academic requirements as necessary to ensure equal educational opportunity. Examples of adjustments are: arranging for priority registration; reducing a course load; substituting one course for another; providing note takers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, extended time for testing, and, if telephones are provided in dorm rooms, a TTY in your dorm room; and equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition, or other adaptive software or hardware" (U.S. Department of Education, 2011, para 12). 

But what about accommodations or adjustments specific to nursing students?

Nursing students and campus disability services staffers were asked, "What accommodations have been provided to nursing students with disabilities?" The responses included the following:
     Note taker for lectures 
Extra time for review of charts in clinical
Extra time for tests
Distraction free testing
Reader for exams
Frequent breaks
Audio books, Audio recording 
Magnifier
Extended or open-ended time for demonstration of skills
Second person to be the "other hand" during a catheterization
Wearable microphone connected via Blue Tooth to hearing aids
Amplified/electronic stethoscope
FM system for clinical
Sign language interpreter
Service dog       
...............................................          

References
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2011). Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities. Retrieved on April 12, 2019 from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html

Cheers!

Donna
P.S. Please feel free to add to this list.