The White Paper on Inclusion of Students With Disabilities in Nursing Educational Programs for the California Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities, by Beth Marks and Sarah Ailey, describes issues that prevent applicants with disabilities from entering nursing programs. These include outmoded admission standards and misconceptions about the ability of students with disabilities to be effective in clinical practice. The white paper also discusses barriers and supports for students with disabilities and misunderstandings of nursing faculty about technical standards and essential functions. Another part of the paper examines accommodations for nursing students. You can find the white paper at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/faculty/tool-kits/accommodating-students-with-disabilit. Other resources for nurse educators are available at the National Organization of Nurses With Disabilities (NOND) (http://www.nond.org/) and the Alliance of the Office of Disability Employment Policy and NOND (http://www.dol.gov/odep/alliances/nond.htm) Web sites. The Alliance provides videos that would be valuable for faculty to view and discuss. Other Web sites include the Americans With Disabilities Act National Network (http://www.adata.org), Association on Higher Education and Disability (http://www.ahead.org), and Job Accommodation Network Occupation and Industry Series: Accommodating Nurses With Disabilities (http://askjan.org/media/nurses.html). The Southern Regional Education Board has identified implications for nursing programs of the Americans With Disabilities Act. This document is available at http://www.sreb.org/page/1390/the_americans_with_disabilities_act.html. Nurse educators have been given a "call to action" to identify and implement best practices to support the success of students with disabilities. Begin by educating yourself with these resources.

Submitted by: Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief, mailto:[email protected].