Nurses helping nurses

[valeriewalsh]

How can we get nurses who are disabled to help one another? A disability can be emotionally devastating because of the trauma nurses question their ability to take the steps they took before. How can we get hospitals to retrain nurses with a disability without discrimination?

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Hello, and Welcome to Allnurses!

What you're proposing is a tall order in a culture that values the individual---and an unlimited capacity for hard work---above almost all else. Health care is particularly tough on those of us who have disabilities, even though one would think medical professionals would have more empathy and understanding; unfortunately, if we show some vulnerability we get thrown under the proverbial bus.

What we can do is speak out against discrimination and refuse to accept being stigmatized or shamed, even though this can be risky professionally. I don't know what your disability is, but it's been my experience that nurses with disabilities that can't be "seen" have more trouble than those who have more obvious issues. This is especially true for nurses with mental illnesses, most of which tend to be exacerbated by the stresses inherent in nursing work.

But no matter what the disability, we need to utilize the Americans with Disabilities Act, which in many (but not all) cases provides the foundation for fair treatment in the workplace. We also need to educate our employers on our conditions; there are many helpful resources on the Internet which can be printed out and given to our managers/supervisors.

I think a good thing to remember is that we are not "disabled", we have a disability. There's a big difference.