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July 20, 2006
Nurses with disabilities work! An answer to the nursing shortage
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, July 11, 2006— Donna Carol Maheady, winner of the AJN 2004 Book of the Year Award, did it again. Her new book, Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with disAbilities was published by iUniverse, Inc.
In the midst of a national nursing shortage, many trained nurses who can and want to work are being denied the opportunity. They are being pushed out of jobs and turned away from unfilled positions, all because they have disabilities.
Eleven nurses who defied disability tell their personal stories of courage and determination in the face of stigma and discrimination, proving that nurses with disabilities have the ability to successfully fill the jobs that so desperately need filling.
A car accident. A fall. A stroke. Depression. Disability can happen to anyone and at any time. By knowing the ins and outs of disability laws as they relate to those in the nursing profession and taking the measures outlined in this book, you can ensure that you will be prepared should disability ever happen to you.
This book serves as both as inspiration and as a practical guide for nurses living and working with disabilities and for students with disabilities pursuing careers in nursing. Nursing with a disability is a challenge, but with proper planning, the right knowledge and perseverance, it is not impossible. The nurses who share their stories here are living proof of that.
For hospital administrators, human resource personnel and nursing educators, this book demonstrates that shutting out nurses and nursing students with disabilities out of the profession only does the profession and the patients who need them a disservice.
Let’s try not to leave any nurse who can work and wants to work behind. The cost to society of underutilizing the hearts and minds of these professionals is staggering.
Dr. Donna Maheady is an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. She is the founder of the nonprofit resource network, www.ExceptionalNurse.com, and author of Nursing Students with Disabilities Change the Course.
Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with disAbilities, ISBN 0-595-39649-6, is available for $14.95 at www.Amazon.com.
Donna Maheady, ARNP, EdD
(561) 627-9872
ExceptionalNurse@aol.com
Posted by Donna Maheady