We're thrilled to invite you to the upcoming event hosted by the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative: "Empowering Women with Disabilities in Nursing: A Mentorship Panel." Event Details: Date: May 8th, 2024 Time: 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST Moderators: Drs. Brigit Carter (AACN) and Lisa Meeks (DWDI) Registration: Webinar Registration - Zoom All are welcome, with captioning and ASL provided. Join us as we extend crucial support to women with disabilities in the nursing profession through an enriching mentorship panel. Spearheaded by the Docs with Disabilities team, this event aims to provide fre ..read more

Nick Lohmer "Lohmer has been a Gillette employee for 17 years, but his journey through the halls of the hospital goes back to the first few months of his life. He was born with a spine condition and knows exactly what the kids there are seeing and feeling. “I grew up here at Gillette, I have spina bifida myself. I've had 88 surgeries as of a year ago, and not all, but a good number of them have been here at Gillette,” Lohmer said Spending a lot of his youth at the hospital wasn't always easy, but it did give Lohmer a clear idea of how he planned to spend the rest of his life. “I kind ..read more

"Registered nurse Tamara Moyo (center) shares her personal story of learning to live with epilepsy after being diagnosed in 2022 to encourage and inform others about this neurological condition, which affects one in every 100 people in South Africa, representing approximately half a million South Africans based on a total estimated population of 52 million." “I’m telling my story in the hope that someone will find encouragement in learning to live with their epilepsy because it is not an easy road. My advice is to keep taking your medication as prescribed, get to know what triggers y ..read more

Diane Bass, BSN Safe 'N' Clear featured Diane Bass in an article and shared the following. "Bass encourages others to work at or join a developing a supportive community network. Bass moderates a Facebook nursing group because an instructor made the comment that, “There are no Deaf /Hard of hearing people in the nursing field.” The Facebook group is for those who are in the nursing field and have self-disclosed as being on the spectrum of deafness. Members are those with jobs in the nursing field ranging from Certified Nurse Assistant to Nurse Practitioner to PhD or DNP in nursin ..read more

                                                                         Natalie Rizqallah, BSN, RN, CMSRN Natalie Rizqallah wrote, "Having an eating disorder was further complicated by my self-perceived moral responsibility as a nurse. I felt like an imposter as a nurse, educating about healthy habits, asking for help, and mental and physical health, and battling first anorexia, then bulimia in private. Over t ..read more

The biggest challenge Gerald had to overcome was being able to safely perform meticulous nursing skills. “That was the big thing for me and my instructors. All of us had to find a way to adapt and be safe,” said Gerald. “I was born this way. I can tie my shoes and put my hair in a ponytail, drive. In general, I’ve had challenges learning to use the prosthetic and only wear it for nursing.” Gerald conquered procedures like drawing blood early in the program. “I just really practiced a lot. Drawing blood is not the most difficult thing. Anything sterile is more difficult but that’s in general ..read more

 "At the age of four, I was hit in the left eye with a stick and from that day on I grew up with vision in one eye. I have never let my visual limitations dictate what I can do. I was diagnosed with glaucoma in my right eye 15 years ago. I was so overwhelmed. I was determined it would not get my vision. I did everything the eye doctors told me to, but the eye drops were not enough. At one follow up appointment I was told I had retinal hemorrhaging. That was a devastating blow. I have had multiple surgeries attempting to lower the pressure and slow the progress of the disease, but the gl ..read more

  Jeff Nelson knew it was time for a change. He was drifting from desk job to desk job after a serious on-the-job injury forced him to medically resign as a deputy sheriff. These positions kept him nominally in the criminal justice field in which he’d been working for two decades, but they weren’t fulfilling.  “I didn’t like the desk work,” Nelson said. “I wasn’t doing what I had gotten into criminal justice to do. I wanted to be hands on, and I wanted to be helping people.” Then came a conversation with a representative of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who suggested the ..read more

Brogavantty Dunwoody, RN, BSN Brogavantty wrote the following for the CF Community Blog."For the first few years, life as a nurse was good. I was always transparent about my chronic condition (although not when I was interviewing for jobs). I was determined to be punctual and reliable, so I planned doctor visits on days off or took paid leave. During those long, 12-hour nursing shifts, I had the opportunity to display a high level of compassion for my patients. Soon, I became a teacher for nursing students, and then for nurses new to the profession, and finally for those who were new ..read more

 AMPHL - Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses "We are proud to announce the launch of our Stethoscope Equity Project for students and healthcare professionals with hearing loss! Meeting technical standards for stethoscope use is often a challenge for those with hearing loss in part because of individual differences in hearing and technology (hearing aids, cochlear implants). Many people with hearing loss are not sure what will work best for them and often need assistance that is not usually provided by schools. It may become a long trial-and-error process, which can ..read more