[nabs-l] Thoughts on an interest group for Health Care Professionals

[Elizabeth Mohnke]

Hello Kaiti,

It sounds to me like this is an issue for the human resources division and
not the student division. I am not quite sure how many people you need to
create a formal division within the NFB, but it appears to me that anyone
can easily form an interest group. 

I know the journalism group is not a formal division within the NFB, but
sometimes a handful of people interested in the field of journalism will
meet up at national convention. Likewise, the young professionals group is
not a formal division within the NFB, but it seemed as though there was no
trouble forming a new interest group geared towards young professionals. I
believe both of these interest groups have a dedicated email list on NFBNet.

I cannot say for sure, but I would imagine gaining access to a client's
personal record would be rather similar regardless if the client was
obtaining mental health services or physical health services. However, I do
know there are definitely a lot of visual displays and monitors used in a
hospital setting. I am honestly not quite sure how a blind person would be
able to gain independent access to some of these visual displays as some of
them are constantly changing all the time. In some cases you cannot transfer
devices from room to room, so having one set of accessible devices may not
necessarily work for this kind of situation. I have spent quite a bit of
time visiting someone in the hospital, and I would often wonder how a blind
person could obtain a job in the hospital given all the visual aspects of
the job.

I hope this message helps answer some of your questions.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth

 
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
via nabs-l
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2014 5:48 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: [nabs-l] Thoughts on an interest group for Health Care
Professionals

Hi all,

Recently there has been discussion over on the Human Services List about
whether or not to change the division's name to allow for inclusion of those
in the health care fields.  If this passes, the division would become
something like the "Health and Human Services Division."  Right now, views
seem to be split almost down the middle at least by those who have responded
to the thread.  Some believe that the mind-body connection warrants the
inclusion of health care professionals in the division, and think that there
aren't enough people in the health care fields within the NFB to form a
separate group or division.  Others point out that the problems encountered
by blind health care professionals are different from those in the human
services fields, and that although there is a connection between mind and
body and those individuals could be included in the human services division
we don't really know whether or not there is enough interest or a population
of people worth starting a separate group for because no one has made one
yet.

As someone in an allied health profession, which follows a very wholistic
approach not just addressing the mind and body, but also emotional wellness
and spiritual health for those who choose to be spiritual, I have my own
opinions about this.  I have found the human services to be a great group of
people who have been a great resource to me, but there are some things I've
experienced as a student in my field which they have no idea how to comment
on.  Though my field uses a lot of the same principles found in sociology
and psychology, as well as counseling, the people there truly don't
understand the full scope of what people in professions similar to mine do.
However, if I had a group where people understood the physical workings of
the human body, I could ask the questions I can't ask on the human services
group like, "How to do X with a client with Y physical limitation."  I could
also ask questions specific to hospital problems, ways to get around
accessing visual information on patients, etc.  So far the adaptations for
things like getting the information that is found on monitors have been just
things I've thought up myself, but it would be great, I think, to have a
think tank of people who have tried different approaches, have different
ideas, etc.  I would stay in the human services division no matter what
because that is a huge aspect of my future career, but I do think this topic
warrants at least a separate mailing list or group if there are enough
people to make it worthwhile.

Thoughts?

--
Kaiti

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