Abstracts
Abstract
Background: The experience of disability is often overlooked within equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives in nursing education. Nursing students who self-identify as having a disability or disabilities have reported issues regarding accessibility and accommodations. Nurse educators have reported general uncertainty regarding ways to support students, especially within clinical practice settings.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of nursing and psychiatric nursing students and faculty, with a focus on accommodations and associated barriers.
Methods: Mixed-methods research was conducted to answer the following question: What accommodation practices promote or limit the inclusion of nursing and psychiatric nursing students with disabilities in theory and clinical practice settings? Data were collected through an anonymous online survey. A total of 95 responses were included in the analysis. Participants included students in undergraduate degree programs in nursing (n = 21) and psychiatric nursing (n = 22), academic nursing/psychiatric nursing faculty (n = 49), and accessibility professionals (n = 3) in Western Canada.
Results: Two main themes were derived from the parallel analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data. The first theme focused on the provision of reasonable accommodations and the second focused on attitudes towards nursing and psychiatric nursing students with disabilities. Students who received accommodations reported that accommodations contributed to their success in the classroom environment (94%), skills lab (86%), and clinical setting (86%). The attitudes of participants towards accommodations were largely favourable. However, barriers to accessing accommodations were noted, mainly within clinical settings. The faculty participants identified lack of knowledge on accommodation processes and a lack of time to implement individual accommodations as a barrier. While the majority (74%) of participants agreed that students with disabilities could meet the theory requirements of professional programs, only half of the participants thought that these students could meet the clinical program requirements. Significant differences in responses were evident between participants who self-identified as having a disability or disabilities and those who did not.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for effective accommodation processes for nursing students with disabilities, particularly within clinical environments. There is also a need for increased education, support, and resources for faculty to improve their levels of preparedness.
Keywords:
- nursing students,
- post-secondary education,
- accommodations,
- inclusion,
- disability
Résumé
Contexte : Les initiatives relatives à l’équité, la diversité et l’inclusion dans la formation infirmière ignorent souvent l’enjeu que peut être la situation de handicap. Les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences infirmières qui s’identifient comme ayant une ou plusieurs incapacités ont signalé des difficultés au niveau de l’accessibilité et des accommodements. Les formatrices et formateurs ont rapporté une incertitude générale en ce qui concerne les façons de soutenir les étudiantes et étudiants, plus particulièrement dans les milieux de pratique clinique.
Objectif : Le but de cette étude était d’examiner les perceptions des membres du corps professoral et des membres du corps étudiant en sciences infirmières et en soins psychiatriques, en se centrant sur les mesures d’accommodement et les obstacles connexes.
Méthodes : Une étude à méthodes mixtes a été effectuée afin de répondre à la question suivante : quelles mesures d’accommodement favorisent ou limitent l’inclusion des étudiantes et étudiants en sciences infirmières et en soins psychiatriques ayant une incapacité dans les milieux de théorie et de pratique clinique? Un sondage en ligne anonyme a permis de recueillir des données. Les réponses de 95 personnes participantes au sondage ont été analysées. Les personnes participantes comprenaient des étudiantes et étudiants des programmes de premier cycle universitaire en sciences infirmières (n = 21) et en soins infirmiers psychiatriques (n = 22), des membres du corps professoral universitaire des deux programmes (n = 49) et des spécialistes de l’accessibilité (n = 3) de l’ouest du Canada.
Résultats : Deux principaux thèmes ont été tirés de l’analyse parallèle des données qualitatives et quantitatives. Le premier porte sur l’offre de mesures d’accommodement raisonnables et le deuxième thème porte sur les attitudes envers les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences infirmières et en soins infirmiers psychiatriques ayant une incapacité. Les étudiantes et étudiants qui ont bénéficié de mesures d’accommodement ont indiqué que ces dernières avaient contribué à leur réussite en classe (94 %), dans les laboratoires d’habiletés (86 %) et dans les milieux cliniques (86 %). Les réactions des personnes participantes envers les mesures d’accommodement étaient en majorité favorables. Toutefois, il a été mentionné qu’il existait des obstacles pour accéder à ces mesures, surtout dans les milieux cliniques. Les personnes participantes membres du corps professoral ont fait ressortir, comme obstacles, un manque de connaissances sur les processus d’accommodement et un manque de temps pour mettre en place des mesures d’accommodement individuelles. Bien que la majorité des personnes participantes (74 %) conviennent que les étudiantes et étudiants ayant une incapacité peuvent satisfaire aux exigences théoriques des programmes professionnels, seulement la moitié d’entre eux pensent que les étudiantes et étudiants peuvent satisfaire aux exigences cliniques des programmes. Des différences considérables étaient évidentes dans les réponses des personnes participantes qui s’identifiaient comme ayant une ou des incapacités et celles des autres personnes.
Conclusion : Les résultats mettent en lumière le besoin de mesures d’accommodement efficaces pour les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences infirmières avec des incapacités, particulièrement dans les milieux cliniques. Ils mettent aussi en évidence, le besoin pour les membres du corps professoral d’avoir accès à davantage de formation, de soutien et de ressources afin d’être mieux préparés.
Appendices
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