Links to pages about disabled individuals working as health care professionals. Most of these links will take you out of the HCP-disability pages. If you would like to add to this page, or find any errors, please email David Wright.
Listed alphabetically by family name [except for section on Blind Physicians in Current practice at end of page (all from one web page)]. Individuals who appear without a family name are listed before the Blind Physicians in Current Practice.
Michael Ain Pediatric orthopedic surgeon: Achondroplasia.
http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0499web/ortho.html
[U.S.A.] If Micha
el Ain believed in playing the odds, he never would have become a doctor. Rejection letters from more than 20 medical schools (as Ain received) would have convinced most people to change career plans. But more than anything else, Ain wanted to be a doctor. He was smart and knew he could do the job. Being only 4 feet 3 inches, he staunchly believed, should not affect how his dice were cast. Ain, 38, is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he is one of only a handful of physicians in the country who are dwarfs. Proving the naysayers wrong: Ain was rejected by two dozen residency programs on the basis that he wasn't physically up to the job. Today at Hopkins, his surgical card is full. The adjustments have been minor - a stool in the O.R. and specially tailored surgical gowns.
Robert Carter Ph.D. Psychologist: Blind
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/casestudy/tamu.aspx
[U.S.A.] Carter works in academia. Consequently, effective access to written materials is crucial. Carter uses several powerful assistive technologies to get that access. "Assistive technology in many ways has leveled the playing field in terms of being able to do my job and provide the same quality of service - and to access the same information - my coworkers and colleagues do". Blind since birth, Carter considers such technology vital to his success.
Carter is a psychologist for the Student Counseling Service at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. His department provides psychological services to students of the University including individual, group, and couples counseling.
Carter not only works in an academic environment but is highly educated as well, holding a doctorate in psychology from the University of Florida and a bachelor or arts degree in English from the University of North Carolina.
He is also one of those rare individuals who possess talent and expertise in both verbal and technical realms. His verbal skills are essential in his chosen field, of course, but his interest in computers, software, and other technologies has also served him well in gaining access to critical information—without the use of sight.
(This page includes quite a lot of information about the types of assistive technology used by Carter)
Wendy David Clinical Psychologist: Blind
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/casestudy/vapugetsound.aspx
[U.S.A.] VA Puget Sound Health Care System clinical psychologist Wendy David maintains a demanding schedule of counseling, public presentations, program design, and many other duties—all require lots of reading and writing. David, who is blind, keeps pace by applying energy, creativity, and a powerful array of assistive technology tools.
David has spent a lot of time developing her people skills. She works with people all of the time—but, because she works in one of today's typical information-intensive environments, she needs to know a good bit about technology too. And, because she is blind, she's learned even more—about assistive technology.
(This page includes quite a lot of information about the types of assistive technology used by David)
Ruth Douglas A level student (at the time of writing): Nail Patella Syndrome
http://www.skill.org.uk/info/case_studies/ruth_douglas.asp
determined to fulfil her ambition to become a doctor. Here she talks about how she has tackled the admissions process for medical courses at universities.
Victoria Eathorne Disability Advisor: Brain injury
From the archive of Disability Now (http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/). Read the story here: http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/search/z03_11_No/rewards.htm
Also featured in Primary Care: http://www.nhs.uk/nhsmagazine/primarycare/archives/apr2004/feature6.asp
Susanne Fleming RN: Born without a left hand
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=31398
[U.S.A.] Earned a bachelor's of science degree in nursing, recently won the 2004 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award for her passion for the profession and her advocacy for nurses who have disabilities.
Fleming first became passionate about nursing when she worked in her midteens as a nursing assistant at a care center for people with severe disabilities. But when Fleming first tried to enter nursing school in California in the mid-1970s, she was turned down. Officials there told her that she would endanger her patients and even expressed concern that she wouldn't be able to give "bilateral back rubs," Fleming said.
So she went to a different school, the Los Angeles County School of Nursing. There, she was elected president of her class, and she discovered that she could perform all the duties of a nurse. (While she can't give a bilateral back rub, a rub with two hands, she has found that using one hand is just as effective.)
Gill Hall Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Dyslexia
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/hall.html
[U.S.A.] Hall theorizes that many of his colleagues in the emergency medicine field have some level of Attention Deficit Disorder, and thrive on the multi-sensory stimulation and high activity level that the career provides.
Hall uses a number of strategies on the job to compensate for his disability. He carries drug information with him so that he can easily refer to it. He also double-checks all of his drug administrations with his coworkers, which is a common practice for all EMTs. He writes everything down, because the process of doing so helps him to make sure he comprehends it. Usually, an emergency call situation has enough visual and auditory stimulation to help Hall to concentrate. When it doesn't, Hall will look around and give himself more to think about so that he is able to concentrate better. "For example, I may be in a patient's house and I will look around and start commenting on the pictures on the wall and try to keep my mind busy thinking about what this person's life may be like. Then I can concentrate on treating the patient," explains Hall.
Nikki Heazell Nurse: left arm amputated below the elbow
http://www.drc-gb.org/newsroom/newsdetails.asp?id=244§ion=1, and the same at:
http://www.drc-gb.org/newsroom/newsdetails.asp?id=244§ion=4
Video link: http://www.drc-gb.org/newsroom/videodetails.asp?id=8&action=stream
Nikki talks about how she triumphed over discrimination to qualify as a nurse. (Interviewed at DRC National Conference November 2002).
Debby Hill Social Worker [Mental Health and Substance Abuse]: Blind
http://www.science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/Interviews/Debby+Hill
[U.S.A.] I chose to become a social worker, because of two interests that I developed. In grade school, I became very interested in medicine. At the time, I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse. When I grew older, I decided that it was not practical for me to pursue that dream, since I am blind. (Later, I discovered that there are doctors who are blind and nurses with partial vision.) But despite that decision, my interest in medicine remained.
My second interest developed in the early 1980s. I became a volunteer for a telephone hotline. I was trained in supportive listening, crisis intervention and making referrals to various community services. I decided to go back to school for a master’s degree in social work. While researching this choice, I discovered that social workers provided services to patients and families in hospitals and clinics. That was the clincher: I resolved to become a medical social worker.
Billie Holbrook Dentist: [uses a wheelchair]
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/billie_holbrook.html
[U.S.A.] Congenital problems with blood vessels that were malformed around her spinal cord developed into an aneurysm from the altitude in the Andes. After surgery, she did not regain use of her legs.
In dental school, Holbrook worked very closely with the facilities staff to problem solve and work out accommodations. In biology lab they designed a table on wheels at an appropriate height for her. In clinical settings in dental school, she was unable to use the foot pedal that most dentists use to control the rheostat, the device used to drill teeth. Holbrook placed the foot pedal on her patient's chest and instructed them on how to use it.
Technology has come a long way since Holbrook graduated from dental school and bought her own practice. Infrared controls have replaced foot-pedals in her sinks. Until this year, she has not been able to get into her X-ray lab, so all of her patient's X-rays were scanned into her computer where she viewed them on screen. This also allowed her to get closer to the films rather than having to hold them up to the X-ray viewer. She uses no foot-controlled instruments any more. She uses a hand-controlled rheostat for drilling. This device was custom made for her.
Jeff Lawler Medical Student: Retinitis Pigmentosa.
http://www.westernu.edu/cdihp/lawyerstoryiv.xml
[U.S.A.] At age 24, Jeff was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina. In 1998 Jeff took the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT) and applied to eight medical schools. He was invited to interview at four schools, but WesternU's College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) was the only one to offer him a seat. He has made a profound impression upon his fellow students and faculty.
Chris Lehfeldt Dentist: Deaf
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/lehfeldt.html
[U.S.A.] Despite the lack of encouragement from those around him, who had never heard of a deaf dentist, Lehfeldt went forward with his career goals. He first went to Georgetown University where he experienced some culture shock. "I had been a little sheltered in my small England school, only 30 kids in my classes. At Georgetown I experienced not only American culture shock but hearing and deaf world culture shock as well." Lehfeldt had never used sign language before, but took classes in American Sign Language at Gallaudet University. Lehfeldt never attended Gallaudet, put its close proximity to Georgetown gave him enough exposure to American Sign Language that he was able to pick it up.
Ferdinand Louis Rios M.D. Learning disability
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/rios.html
[U.S.A.] Rios thinks that the fact that he has a learning disability makes him a better doctor, although it took him a little time to see what having a disability could give to him. he would try to get help from his professors when he was struggling. He still didn't realize that he had a learning disability, but he would explain the trouble he was having with reading comprehension and ability to focus with his professors. Most were unsympathetic and really didn't listen said Rios, but I did have one who really cared and listened, who really didn't know what to do but was willing to just work with me and told me, 'I really want you to pass this class'.
Rios thinks that his learning disability has helped him be a more creative surgeon and a more caring doctor. Rios believes that people are taught to much about what other people have done and are discouraged from coming up with their own solutions.
Molly Jenkins R.N. Hearing impaired since birth
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/molly_jenkins.html
[U.S.A.] Jenkins had her mother, also hearing-impaired, as both audiologist and mentor. Having a 
hearing-impaired mother in the health care field made it an easy choice for Jenkins to pursue a career in the field herself.
Jenkins attended DePauw University's School of Nursing and went on to become a registered nurse. Main accommodations were simply the use of her hearing aids and ensuring that she got herself a front-row seat in class to enable her to better lip-read the instructor. Jenkin's classmates and instructors worked with her to clarify any information that she missed. The director of the nursing program allowed her to spend several hours with a hearing impaired nurse during one of her clinical experiences. This nurse, who worked in cardiac care, acted as a mentor to Jenkins by giving her "a boost of confidence in knowing that [her] goals were attainable" and by showing her some adaptive equipment that she used on the job.
Dr. Julie Madorsky M. D: Polio.
http://www.westernu.edu/cdihp/drjulie.xml
[U.S.A.] Diagnosed with polio at the age of two, it never occurred to Julie that being a 
woman would be more of a disability than anything else while in medicine. No one ever mentioned her disability openly while she was going through medical school or even in the application process but then again, no accommodations were provided either unless she bought them herself. Of course, that was prior to the ADA.
Julie was diagnosed with polio in 1947 at the age of two. Until recently she walked with a cane. She stopped working six years ago because of the increasing physical limitations due to Post-Polio Syndrome. She worked part time for two years before closing her practice but eventually had to leave and take a disability status. It was a painful experience as well as a major change for Julie and she finds herself still coping with it today.
Iain Pearson Nursing Student (at time of writing): Dyslexia.
http://www.skill.org.uk/info/case_studies/iain_pearson.asp
The point of this story is this disability does not prevent people from becoming a nurse only the lack of self belief does, I am not a dyslexic student nurse I am a student nurse who happens to have dyslexia.
Valita Robison, RN, BSN: Hearing Loss
Twilla Westercamp, RN, BSN, OCN: stroke [left with partial paralysis of both legs and her left arm]
Margaret Shoemaker, RN, BSN, NPS and respiratory therapist: Fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, an as-yet-unidentified connective tissue disease and a severe latex allergy
http://www.nursezone.com/Stories/SpotlightOnNurses.asp?articleID=10861
Sonya Perduata-Fulginiti Nurse: T-12 level paraplegia
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/Perduata.html
[U.S.A.] Perduata-Fulginiti was involved in a car accident and suffered a spinal cord injury. She wondered if she still possessed the necessary skills to go back to her nursing career. A head nurse at her rehabilitation hospital offered to hire her as a nurse as soon as she was discharged from the hospital. At this time during the 1970's, hospitals and other public buildings were not required to be accessible to a person with a disability. Perduata-Fulginiti found that rehabilitation units were more accessible to her, since they were designed to be more spacious and accessible for the patients.
Perduata-Fulginiti also found that she could contribute to patient care by using her own experiences as a person who had spent time as a patient in rehabilitation and who had a disability. She decided to get her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in rehabilitation medicine. She applied at her state school, and was told by the nursing school administrator that she could never be a nurse because there was no way she could empty a bedpan.
Margaret Stineman, M.D: Born with scoliosis, other skeletal abnormalities, reduced pulmonary capacities, and missing the extraocular muscles which move her eyes.
http://www.westernu.edu/cdihp/mstineman.xml
[U.S.A.] Margaret is Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine (with Tenure) in 
the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine with a Secondary Appointment in the Department of Medicine, a Senior Fellow of the Institute on Aging, a Senior Fellow with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and an Associate Scholar in the Clinical Epidemiology Unit of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Thomas Strax M.D. Cerebral palsy
http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/strax.html
[U.S.A.] When the third year medical students in a Temple University physical diagnosis class were presented with 
patient Thomas Strax, they were pretty sure he might have some rehabilitative potential. As they looked at the thin man sitting in a wheelchair in a white hospital gown, they saw that he obviously had cerebral palsy. Students decided that the patient may be able to "sell pencils on Broad Street," and the patient was wheeled out.
A few minutes later, the guest lecturer arrived. Dressed in a dress shirt and tie and doctor's lab coat, the guest professor introduced himself as Thomas Strax, M.D. To the students' surprise, this guest lecturer was none other than the patient they just dismissed minutes earlier as only having a future in a sheltered workshop.
Mick Staff Nurse: Long term depressive illness.
http://www.sypromotingdiversity.nhs.uk/maintenance/profile_details.asp?ID=107
Neil Senior Occupational Therapist: Right traumatic hemiplegia, speech, mobility and communication difficulties.
http://www.sypromotingdiversity.nhs.uk/maintenance/profile_details.asp?ID=106
Ruth Staff Nurse: Osteoarthiritis.
http://www.sypromotingdiversity.nhs.uk/maintenance/profile_details.asp?ID=102
Blind Physicians in Current Practice
[U.S.A.] http://www.westernu.edu/cdihp/blindphysicians.xml
Four individual profiles are listed on this page:
Stanley K. Yarnell MD: Optic neuritis
Graduated cum laude with a degree in microbiology from Ohio State University, and then went on to graduate from OSU medical school and become a board certified specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
David W. Hartman MD
Blind since the age of eight Hartman's efforts to overcome prejudice and misunderstanding and become a practicing psychiatrist were recreated in the two-hour television movie, Journey from Darkness. He has also co-authored a book about his experiences, titled White Coat, White Cane.
Stanley Wainapel MD: Choroideremia
Also at: http://www.healthsciencefaculty.org/profile_gallery/wainapel.html
Blind at the age of eight Wainapel went on to complete undergraduate studies and medical school at Boston University, and later returned to earn his Master's degree in public health. Currently Wainapel serves as Clinical Director of the Montefiore Medical Center's department of rehabilitation medicine in New York City.
Iliff C. Jeffery DO: Lost his vision in two separate accidents aged six.
Jeffery recalls the words of the man who encouraged him to become an osteopathic physician: He said: You have one thing that you can't get away from, and that's the fact that you can't see. ... someone may not be able to remember your name ... but they'll say, Go and ask for the doctor who's blind, and there will be no question as to who they're talking about. That advice was given more than 60 years ago. Jeffery graduated from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM) in 1944 (only one textbook was available in Braille at the time).
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