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Excerpted with permission from Nursing Students
with Disabilities Change the Course, by
Donna Carol Maheady, Ed.D., ARNP
I always wanted to be a nurse but being honest about
my disability backfired on me. I had applied for an
associate degree program in nursing. When I visited
with the program director, I admitted my hearing disability.
The director told me she didn’t think I could
make it through the program. I was more than a little
discouraged. I put nursing school on the shelf, applied
to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in business.
Never given up on my dream of nursing, after graduation
I reapplied for the nursing program. this time I didn’t
disclose my hearing disability. I graduated with a 3.9
grade point average, which helped me realize that I
could do the work in nursing school if no knew.
In nursing school, I wore a hearing aid and covered
it with my hair. I didn’t tell any of the faculty
but finally one instructors caught on. She went to the
program director, who, for other reasons, was not my
biggest fan. She had said to me on more than one occasion,
“Your degree in business isn’t going to
help you here.” The director wanted me to give
up the program, but I would not.
Nursing school was indeed stressful. I lived with
two other nursing students. We pulled each other through
the program by leveraging my study skills with their
practical experience and listening skills. In the practical
applications, I had some challenges as well, such as
distinguishing lung sounds.
The night-shift nurses usually voice-recorded patient
reports for the day nurses. When the day-shift students
arrived, we listened to these taped reports. That was
a challenge for me because some tapes were poor quality.
I overcame that obstacle by arriving early enough to
receive my patient reports verbally.
I never explained my disability to patients. I was
too afraid they would report it and say, “She’s
not a very good nurse.” Or, I feared they would
use my disability to discredit my nursing care and me.
I usually didn’t hear a request when my back was
turned or when I was on my way out of the door. Patients
would sometimes say, “You didn’t hear that?”
or “You walked out of the room, I called your
name and you didn’t hear me.” I simply responded
that I was on the way out, or I had my mind on something
else but I never confirmed that I didn’t hear
them.
Through the fears and the challenges, I stuck it out
and finally graduated. After graduation, I was hired
by a nearby hospital for a position on a medical-surgical
nursing floor. Three months after graduation, I passed
the nursing board examination with flying colors.
Full Disclosure
If I had it to do again, I would arrange for the needed
support services with the office for students. My biggest
fear in nursing school was that somebody would find
out I had a disability and say, “I’m sorry,
we have to cut you from the program.” I had no
doubt that I would be ousted if discovered. That fear—however
rational or irrational—put a tremendous stress
on me. I know I should have told my instructors in the
beginning, but I didn’t. My lack of disclosure
was like lying. I was constantly worried about when
the bomb would drop.
Disclosing a disability is a major decision that can
only be made by the individual. Choosing to disclose
a disability will mean more services but may cost in
terms of respect. For the many helpful students and
accommodating faculty, there are also those who will
treat you differently. Sadly, even in today’s
social environment of equal rights for all, there is
still a trade-off to be made for getting help—the
cost is pride and dignity. Tenacity pays though. The
feeling of achievement and the doors it opens are well
worth the effort.
Contact Donna Carol Maheady by e-mailing ExceptionalNurse@aol.com
or visit www.ExceptionalNurse.com.
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College Bound: Is Your School Ready for a Deaf Student?
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