The Americans with Disabilities Act and essential functions in nursing programs

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Disability Law Compliance

Background:

• The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
• Nursing programs must ensure students can meet essential functions, with or without reasonable accommodations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of essential function lists in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs.
• To assess current admissions practices regarding essential function evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted among BSN nursing programs.
• Data was collected on the existence of essential function lists and admissions procedures.

Main Results:

• The majority of BSN programs surveyed have not developed essential function lists.
• Most programs do not currently inquire about an applicant's ability to perform essential functions during admissions.
• Nearly half of the programs plan to implement such inquiries in the future.

Conclusions:

• BSN programs are largely unprepared to evaluate essential functions in applicants post-Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Future admissions processes are expected to incorporate essential function assessments more frequently.