Disability Inclusion in Nursing

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A Grants Program to Advance Innovation and Systems Approaches for Nursing Education and Practice

About:

The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is pleased to announce a special initiative to fund demonstration projects that enhance equity, inclusion, and access for students with disabilities in schools of nursing and their affiliated clinical sites. This grants program has been developed to support the rights of persons with disabilities to participate in an inclusive education system for the full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth.

Disability Inclusion in Nursing: A Grants Program to Advance Innovation and Systems Approaches for Nursing Education and Practice will provide support for projects, ideally centered in the clinical learning environment, that dismantle ableism in nursing education and practice. Proposals selected for support through this initiative will describe, implement, and evaluate innovative strategies to foster usable, accessible, and inclusive learning and working environments in nursing, with the goals of creating lasting institutional change and providing innovative models and exemplars that other institutions can draw upon to ensure inclusive and equitable learning and working environments.

Each of the projects will be funded for three years with annual costs of $50K – $75K, depending on the scope of the project. Further, as a demonstration of institutional commitment, letters of support will be required from either or both the nursing school and its affiliated health system leadership along with required in-kind support, preferably at no less than 50% of the direct costs.

Examples of Demonstration Projects:

Developing or aligning current academic and practice partnerships around approaches within educational and clinical practice settings to enhance inclusion of student nurses and nurses with disabilities
Incorporating universal design for instruction in nursing didactic education, skills labs, simulation, and assessment practices to support greater inclusivity and accessibility for all
Promoting and updating technical standards for admission and retention that focus on inclusion, not exclusion
Developing up-to-date accommodations with clinical affiliates that focus on disability inclusion at clinical sites
Developing effective and equitable processes and procedures for nursing schools that facilitate retention when students become disabled
Designing and implementing faculty development to mitigate implicit and explicit biases toward student nurses, nurses, and patients with disabilities
Aligning AACN Essentials competencies at Level 1 or Level 2 with curricular plans for nursing education to achieve culturally sensitive care for patients with disabilities