The Americans with Disabilities Act and essential functions in nursing programs

With the recent passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the author conducted a study to determine what percentage of BSN nursing programs had a list of essential functions that students must be capable of performing while enrolled. Results showed that the majority of programs have not developed lists and currently do not request information, during the admissions process, related to the applicant's ability to complete the essential functions of the programs, with or without reasonable accomodation. Almost half of the programs surveyed plan to request this information during the admissions process in the future.