▼Viewpoint
By Donna Maheady, EdD, RN, CPNP
Positions Wanted: Nurses with Disabilities
Barriers to employment remain despite the nursing shortage.
“
I
lost my job because I
have to use a cane
and they said I was
unable to return to
full capacity according
to the job description. I asked
for another position and was
told, ‘We can’t make a position
for you.’”
That statement comes not
from a patient being treated with
physical therapy, but from a fel-
low nurse who happens to be
disabled. Many nurses have dis-
abilities, including hearing or
vision loss, mobility or dexterity
limitations, multiple sclerosis,
cerebral palsy, mental illness,
amputations, and paralysis. Some
have been injured from lifting
heavy patients at work or receiv-
ing the brunt of a patient’s violent
outbreak, or through exposure to
latex or glutaraldehyde. Their
ages, disabilities, and work expe-
riences may differ, but what
remains constant is a passion to
continue working in nursing. And
given the critical shortage and the
passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) 14 years
ago, it’s difficult to understand
why nurses report disability as a
barrier to employment.
The March 2000 National
Nurses Survey found that 9,438
RNs reported disability–illness
as a reason for not working in
the nursing profession. The 2003
Heldrich Work Trends Survey
conducted by the State Univer-
sity of New Jersey–Rutgers,
found that people with disabili-
ties are underrepresented despite
the desire and the ability to
Donna Maheady is adjunct assistant professor
at Florida Atlantic University College of Nurs-
ing, Boca Raton. She is the author of Nursing
Students with Disabilities Change the Course.
Contact author: DMaheady@aol.com
ajn@lww.com
work. Barriers to work included
lack of appropriate physical
access, employers’ reluctance to
hire, and lack of transportation.
There are no studies docu-
menting the exact number of
Nurses say
that support
from employers
and coworkers
is key.
nurses with disabilities—and
some nurses fear termination if
they disclose their disability to
an employer. In states with pro-
grams that monitor a physical
disability in the same manner as
a drug addiction, nurses fear dis-
closure will result in the loss of
their license.
However, there are disabled
nurses who report successful
accommodations and continued
practice. For example, nurses
with mobility limitations are suc-
cessful case managers, telephone
triage nurses, and consultants.
And in some cases, patients may
feel more comfortable being
cared for by a nurse who offers
personal experience regarding an
illness or disability.
Nurses say that support from
their employer and coworkers is
the key to success. Technologic
accommodations are also useful
and include equipment such as
amplified and electronic stetho-
scopes, amplified telephones,
digital blood pressure machines
and thermometers, and see-
through masks (which facilitate
lip reading, for example, for OR
nurses who are deaf. Yet nurses’
stations and medication rooms
that can accommodate wheel-
chairs or scooters are still
needed, as are appropriate and
available parking spaces.
Patient safety is a main con-
cern—for everyone. Yet when
nurses feel comfortable disclosing
their disabilities and using appro-
priate accommodations without
fear of retribution, everyone is
aware of the disability, and
patient safety is enhanced.
A change in attitude regarding
the potential of these nurses is
necessary. Employers need to
actively recruit nurses with dis-
abilities by specifying in employ-
ment ads that these nurses are
wanted and welcomed. These
employers should be recognized
for their efforts by health care
agencies and disability organiza-
tions, and serve as resources.
Professional assessments of
nurses should address years of
experience, sign language or lip
reading skills, empathy, and
leadership skills. Employers must
also work with insurance com-
panies to identify ways to
address liability concerns, a com-
mon reason why disabled nurses
are denied employment.
There needs to be more
research, especially on safe prac-
tice. The U.S. Division of
Nursing Survey needs to add
questions about disabilities to its
survey, and state boards of nurs-
ing also need to collect data.
Nurses with expired licenses
should be asked if a disability
was the reason.
Let’s make a place for nurses
with disabilities by expanding
reasonable accommodations and
treat these nurses the way we
would like to be treated. ▼
AJN ▼ March 2004 ▼ Vol. 104, No. 3 13