ODEP and National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to promote the employment of people with disabilities in the healthcare industry. ODEP and NOND hereby form an Alliance to conduct outreach, education and technical assistance activities that promote the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement of individuals with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, in the healthcare sector.
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Beth Marks, NOND President, and ODEP Assistant Secretary Kathy Martinez, sign the Alliance agreement. |
Alliance Activities
Specifically, ODEP and NOND agree to work together to carry out the following activities:
- Share expertise and information on hiring, advancing, and retaining healthcare professionals with disabilities, specifically targeting veterans and others with disabilities interested in healthcare careers, mature workers, and employers in the healthcare industry from the date of the last signature to this agreement.
- Promote and disseminate information on ODEP resources to NOND members and others in the healthcare industry. ODEP resources include, but are not limited to, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN), and the Workforce Recruitment Program.
- Develop and publicize resources on the value of hiring and retaining veterans and other individuals with disabilities in the healthcare sector, including educational materials, success stories, and case studies developed collaboratively or by individual parties.
- Identify issues of specific concern to employers to which the Alliance should direct particular attention and resources, and determine how best to communicate relevant information to this constituency.
- Speak, exhibit, and/or appear at mutually agreed upon ODEP and NOND events.
- As appropriate, convene and/or participate in stakeholder meetings focused on forging innovative strategies for recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities.
- Provide technical assistance to employers and employees regarding replicable disability employment strategies, policies and effective practices.
- Participate in meetings and/or discussions with representatives from other ODEP Alliances to exchange information on various disability employment issues that are being addressed and to explore opportunities for additional collaborative activities.
- Carry out other activities, as mutually agreed upon, that promote the hiring, advancement, and retention of individuals with disabilities in the healthcare industry.
About the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities
The National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities is an open membership, cross-disability, public education and advocacy organization that works to promote the full inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions into nursing careers.
Event
An all-day ODEP NOND Alliance Roundtable Discussion was held on March 18, 2014. Discussion focused on barriers that impact the ability of people with disabilities including veterans to enroll in healthcare careers and obtain employment and necessary accommodations for an aging healthcare workforce.
Resources
Insight into Diversity Magazine Articles
- Game Changers: Nurses with Disabilities Work to Dispel Bias in Health Care (PDF)
- End the Disability Debate in Nursing: Quality Care is Fact (PDF)
Danielle’s Story
Born missing a limb from her elbow, Danielle found ways to succeed in nursing school, graduate and land a job as a nurse. This video was produced for New England DBTAC under a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).
Open-the-Door, Get 'Em a Locker: Educating Nursing Students with Disabilities
This documentary film produced by Bronwynne Evans, RN, PhD and Beth Marks, RN, PhD chronicles the experience of a nursing student who entered a baccalaureate program using a wheelchair. The 23 minute film provides a forum for the voices of nursing students, faculty, administrators, and agency nursing staff to discuss trials and triumphs encountered during this experience. It is a real life example of the exploration of roles and responsibilities in nursing education, experiential learning, shifting perspectives, and being a part of old ways turning into new ways in the world of nursing.