ASL Interpeters allowed at clinicals per the ADA?

Julius Seizure · Sep 5, 2017

I have absolutely no idea. Maybe asking one of the national advocacy organizations for those with hearing impairments?

I'm curious, would you need an interpreter with you at work after graduation too, then? How does that work? Do you pay one yourself?

Natiel · Sep 5, 2017

Yes, I would.

My employer would pay for all my interpreters, under the ADA.

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 5, 2017

Yes, I would.
My employer would pay for all my interpreters, under the ADA.

I'm not sure that would fly as a reasonable accommodation. You've got HIPAA issues to worry about, expect an employer to pay the salary of 2 people for the job of 1, and then there's the issue of assessment.

elkpark · Sep 5, 2017

Yes, I would.
My employer would pay for all my interpreters, under the ADA.

Good luck with that. While state and Federal education law basically require schools to do whatever is necessary to get people with disabilities through school, employers are only required to make "reasonable accommodations," a much lower standard. How many employers are going to consider providing interpreters full-time a "reasonable accommodation"? In the facilities in which I've worked, it's been hard enough to get interpreters, on an occasional basis, for the clients who need them.

Have you held any job in the past in which your employer provided a full-time interpreter?

Natiel · Sep 5, 2017

Good luck with that. While state and Federal education law basically require schools to do whatever is necessary to get people with disabilities through school, employers are only required to make "reasonable accommodations," a much lower standard. How many employers are going to consider providing interpreters full-time a "reasonable accommodation"? In the facilities in which I've worked, it's been hard enough to get interpreters, on an occasional basis, for the clients who need them.
Have you held any job in the past in which your employer provided a full-time interpreter?

I'm not sure that would fly as a reasonable accommodation. You've got HIPAA issues to worry about, expect an employer to pay the salary of 2 people for the job of 1, and then there's the issue of assessment.

No, I haven't. However, I've spoken with ASL interpreter agencies who specialize in medical interpreting, and they say whoever will be my future employer will be required to pay the agency for a full-time interpreter based on the budget that the agency submits to the employer(s).

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 5, 2017

No, I haven't. However, I've spoken with ASL interpreter agencies who specialize in medical interpreting, and they say whoever will be my future employer will be required to pay the agency for a full-time interpreter based on the budget that the agency submits to the employer(s).

Of course they're going to tell you that. They're the ones who want the money. But medical interpreting is way different than performing a nursing assessment. That can't be interpreted.

Natiel · Sep 5, 2017

Of course they're going to tell you that. They're the ones who want the money. But medical interpreting is way different than performing a nursing assessment. That can't be interpreted.

I never said that the interpreters would do the assessment and other nursing care tasks on my behalf. They're only there for communication between pts, families, and other healthcare staff.

Also, please read these:

BREAKING: Deaf Nurse Wins Court Case |

Court rules Hopkins wrongly rescinded job offer of deaf nurse - Baltimore Sun

http://www.nursinglaw.com/deaf-nurse-ASL-interpreter.pdf

elkpark · Sep 5, 2017

I never said that the interpreters would do the assessment and other nursing care tasks on my behalf. They're only there for communication between pts, families, and other healthcare staff.
Also, please read these:
BREAKING: Deaf Nurse Wins Court Case |
Court rules Hopkins wrongly rescinded job offer of deaf nurse - Baltimore Sun
http://www.nursinglaw.com/deaf-nurse-ASL-interpreter.pdf

Yeah, I wondered if you realized you were likely to have to pursue a long, complicated court case to get hired as an RN. And, even if that works, you'll have a target on your back every day at work because of the circumstances of your hiring.

The three sources you cite all refer to the same case, one in which a deaf nurse was offered a job, and then the offer was rescinded after she requested a full-time interpreter. While I can understand the deaf community celebrating this outcome, rest assured that hospital legal departments also follow these kind of developments closely, and the lesson they will draw from this will be "don't offer the deaf nurse a job in the first place."

You will essentially be asking employers to hire you at twice the cost of another nurse (your salary plus the cost of the interpreter). What specialized skills or knowledge do you have that would make you twice as valuable to an employer than the many other candidates employers will have for entry level nursing jobs? In much of the country, there is a surplus of new grads and many are struggling to find jobs.

But, maybe things will work out for you (I do see in one of the articles you linked that the nurse involved in the suit is now employed at another hospital that is providing a full-time interpreter). Best wishes!

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 5, 2017

There is a website called "The Exceptional Nurse" that you should check out. I haven't looked at it for some time, but it's focus is on nurses with disabilities. There may be people there with lots of experience with what is generally considered to be "reasonable" accommodations by health care facilities and what types of jobs and employers have been most accommodating.

I wish you the best of luck as you try to find a good fit in the health care industry for yourself.

falonmontgomeryRN · Sep 14, 2017

The school, with proper notice from you, is supposed to supply you with an interpreter. You should submit a request for accommodation for your clinical, and according to ADA laws they should have to provide that accommodation for you.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2017

I'm sure someone (probably many people) are going to think me a jerk for asking this question, but I'm just being practical about this....what about listening to heart/lung/bowel sounds? Auscultation (and percussion) are major parts of the physical exam. I want a person with a disability to be all they can be and more, and I totally appreciate the dream to become a nurse; however, there seems to be practical issues that would be very difficult for a person who is deaf to overcome in nursing school.