ExceptionalNurse.com provides articles of interest to nursing students with disabilities, nurses with disabilities and nursing faculty members. The articles contain information about students and nurses who are struggling to overcome discrimination and barriers to practice. Some articles contain information about ExceptionalNurse.com.

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When Is It Safe to Manually Lift a Patient?
by Thomas Waters
The revised NIOSH lifting equation provides support for weight limits.

Nurses with one leg are real life stars.
by Donna Maheady
The new TNT show HawthoRNe features a nurse who wears a prosthetic leg. In real life, nurses with limb differences are practicing every day. Meet a few of our stars...

A holiday message of hope and peace.
by Donna Maheady
This article includes a slide show honoring nurses with disabilities, using “Air on the G String” as the background music.

Nurses with disabilities going back to work
by Donna Maheady
Helpful hints for returning to work with a disability are included in this article.

Am I “Handicapped”? Nursing With One Hand
by Susan Fleming
Read an excerpt from a chapter published in "Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses working with disAbilities".

Florence Nightingale "Tweets" to nurses with disabilities.
by Donna Maheady
This article is a tribute to nurses with disabilities for nurses week.

Scholarships for nursing students with disabilities.
by Donna Maheady
Scholarship opportunities are presented.

For Patients with PPS, the Worst is Gone but not Over
by Maryanne E. Bezyack
Read about post polio syndrome and Susan Gato, RN who is making a difference.

Nurses with hearing loss: Do you hear what I hear?
by Donna Maheady
Anne Greenwald, RN, Surgical Nurse at Bend Surgery Center is showcased along with resources for nurses with hearing loss.

Nurses with Disabilities: Don’t judge a book by the cover.
by Donna Maheady
Susan Boyle's experience illuminates the potential of people with disabilities.

Shedding Light on Nurses with Vision Loss
by Donna Maheady
Detra Bannister from the American Foundation for the Blind is interviewed. Nurses with vision loss are showcased.

Beka Serdans, ICU nurse with dystonia talks.
With Dr. Oz
Radio interview is featured on Oprah.com.

Nurses: Volunteering with a Disability
By Donna Maheady
This article explores the benefits of volunteering.

Nursing School with a disability: Yes YOU Can!
By Donna Maheady
Keys to promoting success are included in this article.

Anne Greenwald, RN, OR Nurse with hearing loss receives national honor
NewsChannel 21's Eric Rucker introduces us to Bend, Oregon woman who isn't letting her steadily declining hearing keep her from an active life, including operating room nurse, national honor.

Tribute to Nurses
The New York Times Magazine
"Tribute to Nurses" includes Beka Serdans, RN, NP, a nurse with dystonia and founder of www.Care4dystonia.org. (2008, November 30).

Natural Adaptation
By Erin Fitzgerald
RNs with disabilities are remarkably flexible, often excelling at nursing with just a few tweaks of their work environment. Registered Nurse: The Journal of Patient Advocacy (2008), 104, (8), 10-13. California Nurses Association.

Randi Price and Lucky
Randi Price works as a nurse practitioner at Children's Hospital in Denver. Randi is living life to the fullest thanks to Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) assistance dog Lucky.

Danielle's Story
Produced By The New England ADA Center (2006).
A nurse with a limb difference shares her journey in this video clip.

Disability Matters
Radio Interview with Donna Maheady
Bender, J. (Host). (2007, December 4). Disability Matters. [Internet Radio Program]. Voice America Channel: www.voice.voiceamerica.com.

How nurses with disabilities enhance care: Call Them Clinicians
By Sean O'Meara
California Nurses World Magazine (2007, September/October), 22-29, 51.

Exceptional nurse: Nursing resource advocates for those with disabilities
By Sid Goldwell
Denver Nursing Star, December 10, 2007

Nurses with Disabilities. It just works when people want it to work?
By Rob McInnes
Inclusion @ Work, The Oregon Business Leadership Network.

Nurses with Disabilities Compensate — and Contribute
By Wendy Bonifazi, RN
Far from burdening the healthcare system, nurses with disabilities can be a profoundly valuable healthcare asset”. Read the stories of three nurses with disabilities. Nursing Spectrum, Monday July 16, 2007.

RNs in Wheelchairs Face Challenges During and After Nursing School
By Heather World
In 1978, Sonya Perduta was turned away from nursing school because she might have problems changing a bedpan. Decades later, Marianne Haugh was congratulated for excellent grades and test scores, then counseled to seek a major other than nursing. Nursing Spectrum Monday July 30, 2007.

Loud and Clear
By Erin James
Assistive listening devices enable nurses with a hearing impairment to practice. Advance for Nurses, June 25, 2007 (Florida).

"Get Over It! Nursing with Multiple Sclerosis"
By Sheila Sirl, RN
Read about a nurse's journey with MS and her determination to return to work. An excerpt from the chapter she wrote in "Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses working with Disabilities" appears in ABILITY Magazine, volume 2006, Sally Field cover.

"Overcoming the Odds"
By Sally Parker
Three RNs with disabilities (vision loss, hearing loss and chronic pain) share their barrier-breaking stories and their advice for other nurses and students who hope to emulate their success. Minority Nurse.com, September 28th, 2006, Vol. 20.

"Labor and Delivery Nurse"
By Leora Heifetz
A nurse with a visual disability shares her success story and work in Labor and Delivery.

"Geriatric Nurse"
By Dawn Wilcox
This nurses describes 10 years as Director of Medical Services at a day program for the elderly. The years coincided with her vision loss due to glaucoma and Sjogren's syndrome.

"Shake, Rattle and Roll: Nursing with Fine Motor Tremor, Depression and Cancer"
By Nicole Freeman
A nurse with essential tremor shares her journey. An excerpt from, "Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with disabilities" is included in the Tremor Action Network newsletter "Spikes & Spasms", September, 2006.

"Curb Cuts"
By Willie Mae Jackson-Ferguson and Donna Maheady
A nurse comes to terms with Lupus and continues to work as a hospice case manager. Advance for Nurses( April 10, 2006), Vol. 8 (9), pg. 21. Subscribe to view this article.

Susan Fleming, RN "On Overcoming Disability"
By Don Vaughan
Nursing Spectrum, July 31, 2006 Susan Fleming is a true inspiration to nurses with disabilities. Born with only one hand, she overcame numerous obstacles in her quest to become a nurse. Today, she is a perinatal clinical nurse specialist at Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing.

"Disabled and Displaced"
By Donna Maheady
This article summarizes the efforts of ExceptionalNurse.com to assist nurses with disabilities in the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

"Say What?"
By Donna Maheady
Resources for nurses and students with hearing loss are included in this article. Advance for Nurses (January 30, 2006).

"Homework for Future Nursing Students with Disabilities"
By Donna Maheady and Susan Fleming
Preparation of students with disabilities considering a nursing career is discussed.

"Planning for Success"
By Donna Maheady
This article provides important information for students with disabilities who are beginning a nursing program.

"Nursing a Disability"
By Nancy Fagan
This article includes a look at employment options for nurses who are disabled and the responsibilities of their employers. Advance for Nurses, April 10, 1006, Vol. 6, Issue 9, p.26

"Empowering Persons with Disabilities"
By Susan Fleming and Donna Maheady
Disability influenced the lives of two nurses and resulted in advocacy for nurses with disabilities.

"Nurse Valiantly Fights Rare Neurological Disorder"
By Christina Orlovsky
NurseZone.com’s senior staff writer Christina Orlovsky won second place at the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego chapter awards event, held June 22, 2006 for her portrayal of Beka Serdans, a nurse valiantly fighting dystonia, a neurological disorder.

Recovering From Stroke: A Journey Towards Health
By Connie Adleman
Finger Lakes Times, May 22, 2005
This nurse credits journal writing as a significant factor in her recovery from stroke and journey back to nursing. American Holistic Nurses Association, Beginnings Newsletter, Summer, 2006

"The Other Side of the Bed"
By Barbara Dresen, LPN
An LPN survives a subarachnoid hemorrhage and resumes her nursing career. Vol. 5 Issue 7, July 18, 2005 Subscribe to view this article.

"MCG nursing student overcomes obstacles to pursue degree"
By Kim Miller
A nursing student at the Medical College of Georgia has not let the fact that she was born without her left hand and forearm become an obstacle to her goal of becoming a nurse. Medical College of Georgia Today (2006, Spring).

"Disabled Nurse Advocates Change" Continued on Page 2
By Susan Matt, RN
Susan Matt wants hospitals to open up their ears.

"Spirit isn't broken"
By Linda Helser
An accident and use of a wheelchair didn't hinder this nurse's dream of becoming a nursing faculty member.

"Nursing with the Hand You Are Given"
By Donna Maheady and Susan Fleming
A nurse born without a left hand demonstrates how she mastered the skill of donning sterile gloves.

"Disabled Nurses: Disclosure and Safe Practice"
By Joan Fox Rose, RN, MA
Nurses with disabilities share their experiences with disclosure.

"Recovering from Stroke: A journey toward health"
By Connie Stallone Adleman
Read about this RN's remarkable recovery from a stroke and her journey back to work. This article is required reading for the ceu offered by ExceptionalNurse.com,
"Writing your way to health and healing". See Continuing Education page for details.

"Case Study: Stiff Neck, Uncontrollable Head Movements and Sensory Tricks"
By Beka Serdans, NP
A nurse's personal journey to a diagnosis of dystonia.

"An interview with the 2004 Cherokee Winner: A role model for nurses and students with disabilities"
By Donna Carol Maheady, Ed.D., ARNP
Susan Fleming, RN was born with one hand. She demonstrates that a career in nursing is possible in spite of a physical limitation. Exceptional Parent; February 2005; Vol. 35, Issue 2; pg. 41-42

"Impaired Nurses: Reclaiming Careers"
By Andrea Sloan & Emil Vernarec
This review of impaired nurses is presented by the Carter Center.

"Blind Woman Will Pursue Her Dream of Becoming a Nurse"
By Medical News Today
Groundbreaking news about a student who is blind is presented in this article.

"Nurse Overcame Others' Blocks"
By Jonathan Brunt
Read about the winner of the 2004 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. Susan Fleming, RN, born with one hand, has practiced as a nurse for 20 years.

"Positions Wanted: Nurses with Disabilities"
By Maheady, D. (2004). American Journal of Nursing, 104 (3), 13.
Barriers to employment remain despite the nursing shortage. This article presents some strategies for change.

"Disabilities Can't Stop These Nurses"
By Robert Scally
This article spotlights the experiences of nurses with disabilities such as hearing loss, paralysis, and fibromyalgia and states that nursing is a profession that is versatile enough to accommodate workers with disabilities.

"Hearing Loss: The Quiet Epidemic"
By Linda J. Lucas, MSN, PHN, RN and
Lenora J. Matthes-Flint, MSN, MS, PHN, RN
Both of the authors have been hearing impaired for more than 20 years.

"Wheelchair fails to deter paraplegic from nurse's life"
By Beverly Creamer
A remarkable story of a nursing student at Hawaii Pacific University.

"Working Against the Odds"
By Susan Herzberger
Nurses with medical disabilities demonstrate tenacity in this article.
Advanceweb.comVol 4, No. 15. Subscribe to view this article.

"The Untapped Nursing Workpool: Nurses With Disabilities"
By Sandra Nettina
Nurses with disabilities are discussed along with workplace accommodations. The author calls for a paradigm shift from viewing a nurse as a worker with 2 strong legs, 2 skilled hands, perfect vision, and sharp hearing, to a diligent, creative, problem solver who holistically cares for each individual patient. You must subscribe to view this article.

Help Wanted? Consider Nurses with Disabilities
By Donna Maheady
This article calls on employers and nursing colleagues to consider and accommodate nurses with disabilities in the workplace.

"Do We Support Nurse Colleagues Who Have Disabilities?"
By Susan Yox
This editorial addresses important questions about nurses and students with disabilities.

"An Independent Mind"
A nurse overcomes her own disabilities to help blind patients with diabetes.

"For Disabled RNs, a Cyberspace Assist"
ExceptionalNurse.com is featured in this article.

"Tips for Disabled Nurses"
Disabled Nurses can find the job of their dreams. Proven tips for success are included in this article.

"Is Nursing Turning It's Back on the Disabled?"
A compelling personal story of the journey following disability and efforts to return to nursing practice and a nurse practitioner program. Accommodations, barriers, and solutions for employers and academic programs are presented.

AVM: Like a steamroller rolled over me "
Read the inspirational journal of a nurse following a ruptured aneurysm.

Disabled, but Still Able "
A compelling story of a nurse's journey after a stroke. It includes a call to action from nurses and nursing leaders.

Disabled Nursing Students Overcome Challenges "
A BSN program is Dover, DE, has been able to meet the challenge of accommodating several students with various disabilities. A student with autoimmune disease is discussed.

"Employment Barriers for Nurses With Disabilities"
The author calls on each of us, whether we are administrators or staff, with or without disabilities, to insist on nondiscriminatory hiring and retention practices.
by Susan Duncan
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"Nurses With Disabilities"
People with disabilities are one of the most underrepresented voices in nursing. But like nurses of color, they have a lot to say about overcoming discrimination and barriers to take their rightful place in the profession.

"Up to the Challenge"
Nurses with disabilities overcome legal, social and mental hurdles to flourish in their careers.

"Journey to the Dark Side"
Julie Follett, RN, CNS
NursingSpectrum.com
February 20, 2001

"The Gift of ADD"
By Susie Huyer
This nurse practitioner shares her journey with attention deficit disorder.
Advance for Nurse Practitioners (2003, April), 11 (4), 92.

"Overlooked Minority"
Nurses with disabilities face discrimination too.
by Syliva Coleman
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