Nursing Students With Physical Disabilities: Best Practices and Barriers For Inclusion and Representation
Major
Nursing, BSN
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Nursing
Faculty Advisor
Melissa Calvillo
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 11:15 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 12:30 PM
Abstract
Throughout the United States, there is an unprecedented nursing shortage, with roughly 30% of new graduate nurses leaving the field within the first year of working. Retirements and nurses leaving the field during COVID are two of the most serious reasons we are losing nurses. There are many barriers to replacing nurses through schooling because of limited spots for students and a lack of faculty and clinical sites. The nursing shortage is compounded by increased stress for working nurses and burnout, leading more nurses to leave the field. One population that could provide some relief for the nursing shortage would be persons with disabilities. Around 16.5% of nurses have reported having a disability, chronic condition, or impairment, whereas only 8.4% of nursing students report disabilities. It is currently unknown how many nursing students have been turned away due to their physical disabilities. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there remain exclusionary practices in both nursing schools and clinical agencies. Some evidence exists to suggest that reasonable accommodations can be enacted to include nursing students with physical disabilities, but that ableism and stigma are the primary reasons these students are not accommodated. To better understand the benefits and challenges of admitting student nurses with disabilities, we are conducting a literature review on nursing students with physical disabilities. The purpose of this review is to explore how nursing programs support students with physical disabilities' various needs to be successful academically and clinically, and to identify barriers to their success. Using the PRISMA technique for conducting literature reviews helps to identify a specific literature set for review and to extract high-quality evidence to support recommendations. Our review is currently in process.
Nursing Students With Physical Disabilities: Best Practices and Barriers For Inclusion and Representation
CNS Atrium
Throughout the United States, there is an unprecedented nursing shortage, with roughly 30% of new graduate nurses leaving the field within the first year of working. Retirements and nurses leaving the field during COVID are two of the most serious reasons we are losing nurses. There are many barriers to replacing nurses through schooling because of limited spots for students and a lack of faculty and clinical sites. The nursing shortage is compounded by increased stress for working nurses and burnout, leading more nurses to leave the field. One population that could provide some relief for the nursing shortage would be persons with disabilities. Around 16.5% of nurses have reported having a disability, chronic condition, or impairment, whereas only 8.4% of nursing students report disabilities. It is currently unknown how many nursing students have been turned away due to their physical disabilities. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there remain exclusionary practices in both nursing schools and clinical agencies. Some evidence exists to suggest that reasonable accommodations can be enacted to include nursing students with physical disabilities, but that ableism and stigma are the primary reasons these students are not accommodated. To better understand the benefits and challenges of admitting student nurses with disabilities, we are conducting a literature review on nursing students with physical disabilities. The purpose of this review is to explore how nursing programs support students with physical disabilities' various needs to be successful academically and clinically, and to identify barriers to their success. Using the PRISMA technique for conducting literature reviews helps to identify a specific literature set for review and to extract high-quality evidence to support recommendations. Our review is currently in process.