Students Who Identify with a Disability and Instructors’ Experiences in Nursing Practice: a Scoping Review

Abstract

The number of students with disabilities in post-secondary institutions and in nursing programs is on the rise. With limited clinical placements, nursing programs and clinical instructors are asking how to reasonably accommodate students who identify with disabilities in clinical placements. The purpose of this paper is to explore what we know about the experiences of nursing students who identify with a disability and of instructors in nursing clinical practice. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) scoping review methodology, a total of 27 papers published between 1999 and 2018 were selected. Three overarching themes emerged. While students who identify with a disability experienced (a) feeling labeled and excluded they responded by (b) masking their disability and accommodation (including assisted technology accommodation) during clinical placement and (c) suggesting better policy support to highlight their strengths rather than their disability. Most surprisingly to us was the limited Canadian studies. Further education and research implications will be discussed.