Schedule and time
Time for medical appointments, planned breaks, changes to overnight work, extra time outside clinical hours for notes, or earlier notice of schedules and sites.
Start the conversation early
1
Contact the accessibility office
Try to reach out before the rotation starts. Ask who helps plan accommodations for clinical training.
2
Explain the specific barrier
Talk about the task, schedule, location, physical activity, sensory environment, or communication need that affects you.
3
Ask what documentation is needed
Your school may ask a health professional to explain how your condition affects you in clinical training.
4
Plan together
Discuss what has helped before, what you are requesting, and how it can work safely in this setting.
5
Get the plan in writing
Ask who will tell the rotation site, what information will be shared, and who to contact if the plan is not working.
What might an accommodation look like?
This is a list of ideas to discuss—not a promise that any one option will be right for you. The plan should fit your needs and the specific rotation.
Physical tasks
A portable stool or chair, accessible work areas, limits on certain lifting tasks, adaptive equipment, or help with a manual task when appropriate.
Sensory needs
Noise-reducing equipment during appropriate tasks, a quieter place for charting, different protective equipment, or another change that reduces a sensory problem.
Assistive technology
Speech-to-text, text-to-speech, screen access tools, amplification, or another approved technology that works with privacy and patient-care rules.
Communication access
Sign-language interpreters, CART live captioning, remote communication support, or accessible ways to receive spoken information.
Rotation site or location
An accessible site, a location near transportation or medical care, advance site information, or avoiding a site that cannot meet an access need.
A few things to keep in mind
- Something that works in one setting may need to change in another.
- Accommodations do not remove patient-safety rules, professionalism expectations, or essential program requirements. They are meant to help you meet them.
- Your accessibility office should help communicate approved accommodations. You should not have to explain your diagnosis to every instructor.
- Faculty and supervisors usually need to know what to provide, not your full medical history.