Nurses with disabilities: their job descriptions and work expectations

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Disability Studies
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Registered nurses (RNs) with disabilities face challenges in their profession.
• Understanding the alignment between job descriptions and actual work is crucial for RNs with disabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if job descriptions for RNs with disabilities accurately reflect the required job duties.
• To explore the experiences of RNs with disabilities in their roles.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory qualitative study utilizing constant comparative analysis.
• Data collected through in-person or telephone interviews with RNs with disabilities.
• Snowball sampling and nurse-focused publications used for recruitment.

Main Results:

• Nurses with disabilities often select roles they can perform, accept limitations, and receive accommodations.
• Supervisors of these nurses are frequently not nurses or also have disabilities.
• Job descriptions are rarely provided or are inaccurate for nurses with disabilities.

Conclusions:

• Inaccurate or missing job descriptions hinder the retention of nurses with disabilities.
• Nursing roles exist that can be competently filled by nurses with disabilities.
• Healthcare facilities should focus on retaining and utilizing the skills of nurses with disabilities.