[NFB-Science] Advice on Accommodations for Nursing Student

[Jenn Han]

Hi friends,

Happy Tuesday! Hope this email finds you well.

My name is Jenn and I am a current nursing student in a program within
California. Because of my legal blindness, I requested a few
accommodations to aid in my training, which I have listed below.

1. Magnification devices
2. Visual assistance from a fully sighted individual -- this is
particularly useful when filling up syringes, because I cannot identify the
small markings myself, among other examples.

However, my department chair essentially denied any use of assistance from
another person,  stating that this goes against the academic policy of
students conducting these skills independently. I stated that it takes no
skill to read off some numbers or help a student see a syringe marking, and
that I personally would be conducting the skills, drawing up medications,
etc., and only need help to know where the syringe marking is.
Unfortunately, I am getting a lot of resistance with this specific
accommodation request. They said I am only allowed to rely on my own
devices. It has been frustrating because simply using magnification devices
is not a universal solution to the issue at hand; in the real clinical
setting, I very well may need assistance to perform a procedure that is
visually-demanding and require the help of someone fully sighted to aid
where magnification devices cannot be of great help. In addition, it is
unrealistic to assume magnification devices will work all the time,
especially because my vision gets strained after prolonged use of such
devices.

I am unsure how to proceed forward, and would really appreciate advice or
to be pointed in the right direction of someone in the NFB who can help.

Thanks so much for your time. You can reach me at my email:
jenniferhan17 at gmail.com

Best,
Jenn Han
*She / Her / Hers*
UCLA 2021 | Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology
-- 
Jenn Han
University of California, Los Angeles
Class of 2021 | Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology