Deaf Nursing?

athena55, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2006

Alcomedicism:

Hi, not sure of your question....Are you asking if there are Deaf/deaf or HOH nurses out there working?

I had worked for a time at a ENT clinic located in a residential School for the Deaf, and I was (at that time) the only RN that was fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE). Remarkable that being able to sign was not a requirement!!

I also was ready to start employment in a Hospice that had a primary Deaf client base, but they were "restructuring" at the last minute and I lost that job.

What state do you reside in, may I ask? I might be able to hook you up with some information on working professional nurses with hearing loss.

You might also want to check out this wonderful, informative website: www.ExceptionalNurse.com

Be well,

athena

Marvie · Apr 27, 2006

Well, not only is this possible but it occurs many places. I am an RN who has and currently is working in the OR and I am profoundly HOH. My level is 95 in left ear and 110 in the right. I wear 2 BTE aids and can lip read very well. I can tell you how happy many of my patients are when they find this out. Often it is because they too are HOH and/or deaf/Deaf. I am fairly fluent in ASL, although there is always room to learn more. So to answer your question....YES it is possible and does happen.

OK this actually came up on another forum where someone mentioned Deaf Nursing or Nursing for the Deaf, where a LPN or RN was needed for hire with Americal Sign Language skills for communication at a deaf facility of some sort. (Im not sure if it was a long term care facility with several deaf residents or if this was at a deaf community or deaf school.)
But anyway is it possible to have a deaf LPN/RN that works with deaf/hard of hearing patients or to ask for a nurse specifically to work with deaf/hoh patients with American Sign Language skills?
Just curious.......
Alcomedicism

akcountrynurse · Apr 7, 2007

It is good to read that there are other hard of hearing nurses out there working. I myself have a bilateral hearing problem. I was told when I was fitted with hearing aids that my hearing loss was bad enough that I should not be able to hear the tech talking without them. I can hear without them, my loss is in the high frequency range. I often hear others talking and may catch some of the sentence but I misunderstand the letters s for ch so I misunderstand words. The hearing aids make my loss worse not better. Therefore I have avoided hospital work in fear that I would miss something in an emergency, I work in a correctional facility due to that fear. I was wondering if there is organizations that could work with me in learning what my options as a HOH nurse is. I would like to go back to school, broaden my career but not sure where to start. Any suggestions, I live in Alaska.

zuzi · Apr 20, 2007

i don't know what requirements are in usa related at people with hearing disabilties but what i can tell you in canada are rn who worked in er or ambluance and who was trained in asl and lips reading. a couple of years ago i learnt asl but that was after i worked like nurse and was not a requirement for hiring. it seems that asl is an postraining course and not an requirement, us much as i know from canada and europe general facilities

Dempather, RN · May 23, 2007

It's wonderful to see a posting like this. I have a mild bilateral hearing loss (low frequency). My ENT doctor said I wouldn't need hearing aids until much later on. For the most part, I can hear when spoken to and when somebody is speaking a distance away. However, low voices, whispers, and.. surprisingly, people with accents pose the greatest difficulty. It's good knowing that I'm not alone..

"I LUV IT!" · Jan 20, 2008

i had the extreme pleasure of working in a psychiatric facility on a ward that only housed deaf patients. i learned a lot! this ward is the only one of it's kind in our state. we had deaf staff as well as hearing staff but no deaf nurses. when i started this job, i wondered the possibility of there being deaf nurses and was told it was possible with the assistance of digital stethoscopes for auscultation. unfortunately, i have not followed up with that information. we did have deaf cna's, who were awesome in comparison to our hearing staff! because they had grown up in the same deaf culture they related to the patients so much better. they only used a dynamap to assess patients, and if there was a problem with the equipment they would grab someone who could take a bp manually. i would like to know if there is special equipment that could be used and would like to read more about experiences of those that are deaf/hoh...:yelclap:

jolleygirl · Jan 20, 2008

I have bilateral hearing loss and can not hear without the hearing aides, even then I miss alot, unless I am close to the person talking. I would like to take the asl course but I really don't see it offered that much. I think it should be offered as a second language in schools.I work in a clinic, and when we have deaf pts. scheduled we are suppose to have an interpretor sched to come also.

AmericanRN · Jan 20, 2008

I have bilateral hearing loss and can not hear without the hearing aides, even then I miss alot, unless I am close to the person talking. I would like to take the asl course but I really don't see it offered that much. I think it should be offered as a second language in schools.I work in a clinic, and when we have deaf pts. scheduled we are suppose to have an interpretor sched to come also.

In some of the colleges here in Florida a person can take ASL as a second language course instead of Spanish or some other "spoken" language. I know 2 people (cousins) who did take it and became hooked. One became became a police officer and the other cousin a child pyschiatrist. The officer gets an extra $100 a month from her agency for being fluent in ASL. In addition to her normal duties she is called to certain homes to assist other officers so the hearing impaired victim doesn't have to write every single thing down. This can be difficult if the person involved has been raped or otherwise seriously tramutized, its hard for them to write under such distress.

The child pyschiatrist uses it for not only deaf children but for autistic ones and children who have been molested and will no longer speak. She teaches them a few signs and they think it's cool and want to learn more and more, eventuallythey open up to what's going on and the therapy can begin. Never know where the ASL can take a job until it's tried.

33-weeker · Feb 7, 2008

A resident who came in one night when my son was in the hospital had a nifty stethescope that was hooked to a little box which was connected to an earpiece or something. The resident had a small jaw and low-set, malformed ears - obviously some kind of genetic syndrome for which I supposed hearing loss or deafness was a symptom. The special stethesscope she carried was either hooked to a hearing aid or choclear implant (sp). I was impressed that she had overcome such obstacles to become a physician.

I don't deal with deaf patients much, but the other day we had 2 deaf mothers on the postpartum unit at the same time. We went through a lot of tablet paper. LOL

RainbowzLPN, LPN · Apr 3, 2008

I'm glad I found this thread! I've been tossing around the idea of learning ASL. I'm looking into schools in the area that may have it, but I've actually heard of people learning it onling, including nurses, & getting credits for it. I was just wondering if it might be better to learn it face to face in a classroom setting, other than online? Thanks! :heartbeat

SuzieeQ · Apr 24, 2008

I was wondering the same thing. I have been looking all day at ASL courses that I can register for online. Can Canadian nurses take ASL? I can't seem to find a Canadian Sign Language online course. Have Canadian nurses/others used the ASL course, or used a Canadian course instead?:nuke: