● Krishna (first name only) is retiring as deputy superintendent of nursing in 2022 after more than 30 years as a nurse. He lost both his legs in an accident when he graduated in nursing, but later joined GTB Hospital in East Delhi in 1989 using a wheelchair to move around.
● Meeta*, who has 100% hearing loss in one ear, has been working as a nurse since 2011 in a Delhi government hospital. because deafness is not a recognized disability in nursing, she cannot benefit from the quota for people with disabilities.
● Lokesh* whose right leg was affected by polio since childhood was certified as 65% disabled. However, she has worked as an assistant superintendent of nursing at AIIMS Bhopal.
When examples like Krishna, Meeta and Lokesh show disabled nurse can really work in the hospital and can, in fact, show more understanding to patients, hurdles for a nursing career has only increased for others aspirants killed.
Recently, a girl with an arm amputee, whose disability rate is 51%, was not allowed to join the BSc Nursing course because Nursing Council of India (INC) does not allow anyone with more than 50% disability to enter nursing course.
Ranveer Singh Chauhan, president of the Can be different The Employees Welfare Association, said that there are around 200 nurses with various levels and types of disabilities working in several government hospitals in Delhi. “Among them, there are those who have been certified to be 70%-80% disabled. This 50% cut is absurd,” said Chauhan, who works as an assistant superintendent of nurses at the Central Jail Hospital, Tihar. He does not know the exact percentage of disability because there was no rule to determine the exact percentage before 2016. It is enough that a person’s disability more than 40% to get quota for disabled people.
In 2020, INC revised the BSc (Nursing) curriculum for the first time since Independence. Currently, clause 8 states that only those with “locomotor disability up to 40% to 50% of the lower extremities” are eligible to graduate in nursing. This excludes candidates with disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, dwarfism, acid attack victims, low vision, hearing impairment, speech impairment and intellectual disability. Although many senior nurses with varying degrees of disability work in Delhi, none of them were invited to be a part of making the regulations.
Even after the Delhi high court ordered the INC to evaluate the criteria, it said the high-powered committee had considered all issues and complied with the clause, saying the limited functional ability of nurses would hamper care. “Nursing care activities require physical and mental fitness such as good vision, hearing and stamina to assist patients in their daily activities,” he said.
Krishna points out that she and several others are proof that even with considerable disabilities, people can contribute as nurses. “I like to be installed in the injection room where hundreds of people have to be given injections that I can do sitting. I am also in charge of the store and keep track of medicines and supplies. I drive a scooty and do all the work in my own house including sweeping, mopping and cooking. We deserve to be given the opportunity to work and earn a living and live independently,” he said.
At National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND) of the US wrote to the INC asking the council to “open the doors of education to students with disabilities” indicating that nurses with disabilities or chronic health conditions “can provide competent, empathetic, direct patient care, or work in other . health industry sector for companies and non-profit organizations”. The NOND letter lists several careers other than clinical nursing, such as being a disability nurse educator, consulting on health and well-being, personal duties, rehabilitation etc.
Disability Doctor: Agents of Change, who filed a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court, said that “artificial fetters at the stage of self-recognition, reduce the chances of people with disabilities to work appropriately.” This, at a time when India is facing a shortage of nursing staff. It has 1.96 nurses per 1,000 people against the WHO recommended ratio of three nurses.
Dr Satendra Singh, disability rights activist and faculty at Delhi’s GTB Hospital, points out that disabled people are finding unconventional ways to adapt. “Why is it only nurses who have ‘one leg’ or ‘both legs are disabled’? We need compassionate nurses who understand what it’s like to live with a chronic illness or disability, not superhuman robots. To clear misconceptions about the capacity of students with disabilities to experience nursing training, why did INC not include disabled nurses in the committee that made the regulations? said.
*Name changed upon request
● Meeta*, who has 100% hearing loss in one ear, has been working as a nurse since 2011 in a Delhi government hospital. because deafness is not a recognized disability in nursing, she cannot benefit from the quota for people with disabilities.
● Lokesh* whose right leg was affected by polio since childhood was certified as 65% disabled. However, she has worked as an assistant superintendent of nursing at AIIMS Bhopal.
When examples like Krishna, Meeta and Lokesh show disabled nurse can really work in the hospital and can, in fact, show more understanding to patients, hurdles for a nursing career has only increased for others aspirants killed.
Recently, a girl with an arm amputee, whose disability rate is 51%, was not allowed to join the BSc Nursing course because Nursing Council of India (INC) does not allow anyone with more than 50% disability to enter nursing course.
Ranveer Singh Chauhan, president of the Can be different The Employees Welfare Association, said that there are around 200 nurses with various levels and types of disabilities working in several government hospitals in Delhi. “Among them, there are those who have been certified to be 70%-80% disabled. This 50% cut is absurd,” said Chauhan, who works as an assistant superintendent of nurses at the Central Jail Hospital, Tihar. He does not know the exact percentage of disability because there was no rule to determine the exact percentage before 2016. It is enough that a person’s disability more than 40% to get quota for disabled people.
In 2020, INC revised the BSc (Nursing) curriculum for the first time since Independence. Currently, clause 8 states that only those with “locomotor disability up to 40% to 50% of the lower extremities” are eligible to graduate in nursing. This excludes candidates with disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, dwarfism, acid attack victims, low vision, hearing impairment, speech impairment and intellectual disability. Although many senior nurses with varying degrees of disability work in Delhi, none of them were invited to be a part of making the regulations.
Even after the Delhi high court ordered the INC to evaluate the criteria, it said the high-powered committee had considered all issues and complied with the clause, saying the limited functional ability of nurses would hamper care. “Nursing care activities require physical and mental fitness such as good vision, hearing and stamina to assist patients in their daily activities,” he said.
Krishna points out that she and several others are proof that even with considerable disabilities, people can contribute as nurses. “I like to be installed in the injection room where hundreds of people have to be given injections that I can do sitting. I am also in charge of the store and keep track of medicines and supplies. I drive a scooty and do all the work in my own house including sweeping, mopping and cooking. We deserve to be given the opportunity to work and earn a living and live independently,” he said.
At National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND) of the US wrote to the INC asking the council to “open the doors of education to students with disabilities” indicating that nurses with disabilities or chronic health conditions “can provide competent, empathetic, direct patient care, or work in other . health industry sector for companies and non-profit organizations”. The NOND letter lists several careers other than clinical nursing, such as being a disability nurse educator, consulting on health and well-being, personal duties, rehabilitation etc.
Disability Doctor: Agents of Change, who filed a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court, said that “artificial fetters at the stage of self-recognition, reduce the chances of people with disabilities to work appropriately.” This, at a time when India is facing a shortage of nursing staff. It has 1.96 nurses per 1,000 people against the WHO recommended ratio of three nurses.
Dr Satendra Singh, disability rights activist and faculty at Delhi’s GTB Hospital, points out that disabled people are finding unconventional ways to adapt. “Why is it only nurses who have ‘one leg’ or ‘both legs are disabled’? We need compassionate nurses who understand what it’s like to live with a chronic illness or disability, not superhuman robots. To clear misconceptions about the capacity of students with disabilities to experience nursing training, why did INC not include disabled nurses in the committee that made the regulations? said.
*Name changed upon request
