Give Nurses in Wheelchairs a Chance

Give Nurses in Wheelchairs a Chance
Alexandra Wilson Pecci, for HealthLeaders Media , December 10, 2013

Although some nurse leaders cling to the rigid requirements of the profession, others are making accommodations for nurses in wheelchairs, sending a powerful message to patients in the process.
A “walking interview” is one of the questionable—to say the least—tactics that one prospective supervisor used during a nursing job interview with Marianne Haugh.
“I had one walking interview…to see if I could handle their huge unit,” Haugh recalls, a note incredulity still present in her voice when she talks about it. Haugh was born with spina bifida, and although she can walk short distances, she relies primarily on a wheelchair to get around.