HOH nursing student applying for jobs. Do I tell?

LovebugLPN · Feb 19, 2010

Some people will say no but I will tell you that I let my employer know up front that I haver epilepsy and assure them that it is well controlled and will in no way get in the way of my performing my duties. I do this in case I do have any problems at work. This keeps them from feeling that I have been anything less then truthful from the very beginning but technically you really don't have to tell them if you worry it will get in the way of you being hired.

metfan · Feb 21, 2010

I agree. I will mention it at some point during the interview. Maybe toward the end so they already have an idea of what kind of person I am. You know what I mean? So they do not judge me right from the beginning. If they don't want to hire me because of it then I really don't want to work for them anyway. Part of the problem is I want to work at the hospital that is directly across the street from me. Rumor has it they are only going to hire a few new grads. I really want to work there! No commute. Thanks for the advice.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 21, 2010

I have a hearing impairment, too. But it has little effect on my job. When I interviewed for my current job, I told the interviewer at the end of the interview. That way, she had already seen that my hearing impairment would not prevent me from communicating effectively.

I was/am very fortunate that my hearing loss has minimal impact on my job. Your situation might not be the same. But for me, the right choice was to disclose it -- but not as the first sentence of the interview.

ChloBear · Jan 11, 2011

You're not required to disclose it. In my opinion, it's better to disclose after you get an offer. My thinking is, why create the opportunity for discrimination? Since you already have hearing aids and an amplified stethoscope, you most likely aren't going to require any accommodations from your employer. Why do they really need to know?