Promoting Inclusion: Changing Faculty Perceptions in Law, Medical, and Health Science Programs

1. Promoting Inclusion:Changing Faculty Perceptions in Law, Medical, and Health Science Programs International Conference on Higher Education and Disability Innsbruck, Austria July 20, 2010 Diane Hansen, Samuel Merritt University Lori Newman, Palmer College of Chiropractic Danny Nuss, University of the Pacific Anne Peterson, Stanford University Susan Whitlow, University of San Francisco

2. Important Themes of the Presentation • Audience Expectations and Burning Issues • Increase of Students with Disabilities Entering Professional Programs • From Resistance to Alliance -Working with Faculty • Empower Students to Become Effective Self-advocates • Challenges and Issues Ahead • Discussion about Strategies that Have Worked!

3. What issues or questions would you like discussed?

4. Occupations with the Most Job Openings in US: Graduate Degree College Board : source US Board of Labor Statistics

5. Increase of Students Entering Professional Programs with Disabilities

6. From Resistance to Alliance –Working with Faculty • Integration of students with disabilities improves significantly when there is acceptance by faculty • Challenging traditional attitudes • Disabled people are patients and clients, not colleagues • There is only one way to perform a procedure/task • How can a disabled person have the skills/ability to successfully complete the program? • “It has always been done this way.” • Attitudes can make students reluctant to disclose disability and the disability becomes a stigma

7. From Resistance to Alliance – Working with Faculty • Develop good working relationships with administrators and faculty • Indentify and establish a “point person” who help implement disability accommodations in each professional program • Recognize faculty concerns and, when possible, involve them in the solution • Participate in campus-wide committees • Team with campus administrators to help manage “students at risk” • Provide in-service opportunities – create more informed allies

8. Samuel Merritt University - Series of program specific in-services for faculty “Expanding Access – How Nursing Students With Disabilities Bring Value to Health Care”

9. Empower Students to Become Effective Self-advocates • Create a welcoming environment for students and a climate where it is safe to disclose • Include a clear policy about “Where do I go” and “Who do I see?” • View disability as part of diversity – “equity and inclusion” • Have information widely available, especially at orientation • Coach and role-play with students to help build confidence • Have Student Senate include a student representing students with disabilities • Encourage current students to communicate with incoming students

10. Empower Students to Become Effective Self-advocates • A good self-advocate is an effective communicator • Can describe the impact of their disability in a matter-of-fact manner • Develops self-confidence – having a disability is accepted and is one part of how a person might define him/herself • Takes responsibility for needs and decisions • Requests accommodations in a timely fashion (but won’t always know what is needed, especially in a clinical/professional setting)

11. Medical Model Disability is a deficiency or abnormality Being disabled is negative Disability resides in the individual The remedy is cure or normalization of the individual The agent of remedy is the professional Carol Gill, Chicago Institute of Disability Research Socio-Political Model Disability is a difference Being disabled is neutral Disability derives from the interaction between the individual and society The remedy is a change in the interaction The agent of remedy is anyone who affects the arrangements between the individual and society Promote an Inclusive Model of Disability

12. Challenges and Issues Ahead • Role of technology in education • Increasingly larger number of students entering our programs with psychological disabilities • Peer concerns that accommodations gives students with disabilities an advantage • Competitive environment as a result of “ranking” • Issue with faculty over-accommodating • Adjunct or clinical faculty not always familiar with disability policy and processes – need to reach a wider audience • Challenge of an adversarial legal system

13. What has worked and what we have learned!

14. Contact Information • Diane Hansen Samuel Merritt University (USA) dhansen@samuelmerritt.edu •  Lori Newman Palmer Chiropractic (USA) NEWMAN_L@palmer.edu • Danny Nuss University of the Pacific (USA) dnuss@pacific.edu • Anne Petersen Stanford University (USA) apeterso@stanford.edu • Susan Whitlow University of San Francisco (USA) swhitlow@usfca.edu