Nursing Home will not accept deaf students into their CNA course

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Nevermind disability law, I'd rather not learn from a biased group of audistic (prejudice against the deaf) of individuals. Well, Mrs. *****, I don't care if YOU don't think I can become a CNA, much less an RN. I will both and you can have a front row seat in the losers; circle to see me obtain both certifications / licenses.

Rant /

Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.

It is not about being "mean" to persons with disability. It comes down to patient safety and whether or not a hearing-impaired nurse can give safe patient care.

My own opinion (for what it is worth) is yes. A hearing-impaired nurse can give care but perhaps only in non-acute areas of nursing practice. Acute areas are too pressured for the colleagues of a deaf nurse to be alerting them to IV, syringe drivers, feed pumps going off all the time. Few hospitals have the technology in place to convert these to vibrating alarms.

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Um, yeah. I'm surprised that so many of you seem to think that the school/employer can refuse to hire her due to her disability.

Unless you put in your initial job announcement that a criteria for the job is to be able to hear at a certain level, or put in the job announcement that a person must be able to see with 20/20 vision, etc. then you are DISCRIMINATING against the disabled person and that's illegal.

Yes it is illegal to discriminate, however many nursing job descriptions do include exactly this information. This is a sensitive subject and I don't want to upset anyone, including the OP. I respect and admire those with disabilities, they face and overcome unique challenges that most of us take for granted. With that said, nursing requires use of the senses, including hearing, for accurate assessments. Even with the aid of an advanced stethoscope that displays the information for you regarding breath sounds, heart sounds and bowel sounds. Electronic devices can and do fail. True, the OP may not be the only nurse around, but to say that someone else could come and do all of the pertinent hearing related assessments for the OP would be an additional responsibility for their co-workers. I fear that even if the OP is able to complete a nursing program, he/she may face difficulty in finding employment upon graduation because I have seen job descriptions that clearly outline the need for the ability to see, hear, smell, touch, feel, etc...

Flame me now... :o

To the OP, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to pursue. :heartbeat

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Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.

I won't be flaming because I agree with you totally. A deaf nurse has many issues to overcome without becoming reliant upon colleagues.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Would the nursing home be concerned because of bed alarms and tag alarms? I am not trying to make excuses for the nursing home, but most dont spend money on good hoyer lifts, let alone would they probably for specialized equipment. maybe see if they can give you a complete list of VALID reasons?? I hope everything turns out good for you!

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Good luck.

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Yes it is illegal to discriminate, however many nursing job descriptions do include exactly this information.

Some nursing schools do as well.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

If it were my loved one in the bed, I would want someone that could hear them scream. I would want someone who could hear the alarm, etc.

With no offense intended, a nurse should be able to perform the entire job with REASONABLE assist and relying on the other nurse to take over when you can't hear something is not reasonable. Sorry, just my opinion.

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I'd also be interested in hearing from the OP with regards to this advanced stethoscope. I've researched it a bit and came up with results that include the ablility to display a HR, or even more advanced ones that are able to interpret the heart sounds such as S3 and S4 but also are able to interpret lung sounds (rhonchi, crackles, etc) with the use of special attachments that record the sounds but I've found nothing that assesses bowel sounds. Does the OP have a link to this product or a similar one? I only ask out of curiousity. Thanks.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

I graduated with a deaf nurse last summer. She also had a specialized stethoscope, and did very well with both the classroom and clinicals components. She did, however, go into a nonactute area. She said it was more comfortable for her, with her hearing being what it was. Where she is, she doesnt have to worry about patients calling out.

On another note, if you apply to nursing school, the apps dont ask you for disabilities. Though the programs DO have a list of criteria that need to be met in order for you to successfully complete the program. Its usually very similar to an RN job description. Just something to keep in mind.

I wish you the best of luck in achieving your goals.

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I work with a deaf nurse in tele/med surg. She wears hearing aids, and we made sure to have technology that is compatible with them. She also has an electronic stethoscope. Really, she performed her job perfectly well and it was barely noticeable.

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I'd also be interested in hearing from the OP with regards to this advanced stethoscope. I've researched it a bit and came up with results that include the ablility to display a HR, or even more advanced ones that are able to interpret the heart sounds such as S3 and S4 but also are able to interpret lung sounds (rhonchi, crackles, etc) with the use of special attachments that record the sounds but I've found nothing that assesses bowel sounds. Does the OP have a link to this product or a similar one? I only ask out of curiousity. Thanks.

My old nursing supervisor had one of those..it was cool. I don't think it could detect bowel sounds, but I never asked. I too would love to hear more - sounds very interesting. :up:

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
I can see both sides of the debate and agree that some clinical areas may be suited to hearing-impaired nurses.

But how about hearing call bells, IV pump alarms, telemetry alarms? Or indeed patients who just call "Nurse!" There are also feed pump alarms, telephone calls and what about the emergency alarm?.

I am not saying these are insurmountable problems but surely they are significant? On night duty I rely on my hearing above all other senses to detect problems and assist patients.

From a very pragmatic view, I'd like to know how you will be able to overcome these issues.

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