deafgirl1213
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- Joined
- Jan 29, 2020
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I'm a second year college student who is profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant on my right ear.
I just completed my first year in college as a nursing major, and to be quite honest, I'm having some doubts.
The more I got exposed to nursing, the more I'm concerned with becoming a nurse as a deaf female. For example, I wear a cochlear implant so I can't use a regular stethoscope and instead would have to use one specifically made for people like me, and it concerns me that the patients will see me differently and won't want me to care for them because they'll think I'm not as competent as the hearing person standing next to me.
Another thing are my grades. I have a 3.65 GPA after my first year which some people would consider good, but the university I attend is quite small and has a very competitive nursing program which only accepts 48 people every year, and some of the friends I've made that are also nursing majors have a 3.8+ GPA. As happy as I am for them because they worked hard for it, it scares me because it makes me worry I won't get into the nursing program. I know I could do better, but I had a lot to adapt to. During my second semester, my cell biology professor was a Taiwanese man who had quite a thick accent which made it even more difficult to understand him, so I had to work twice as hard in that class. I was placed into lecture halls for some of my classes with high ceilings which called for a lot of echos, also making it more difficult for me to understand. I know if I didn't have these obstacles, I would've done much better but my parents told me that given my situation, I'm doing quite well for myself but I worry it's not going to be enough for the admissions board when I apply to the nursing program.
I know we have the American Disabilities act, but I can't help but wonder sometimes if the nursing program won't take me because I'm deaf and I feel that it's essential for a nurse to have all their senses intact since they have people's lives in their hands. This whole year I've been trying to look at other majors but I always see something that prevents me from considering the major because of my hearing.
I feel like being deaf has really set me back in a lot of ways and it keeps me up at night because I worry about my future and I worry that I won't be able to land a stable career with a stable salary. I know I'm fortunate enough to have a cochlear implant, but I still struggle even with my cochlear implant because it doesn't mimic normal hearing.
I just completed my first year in college as a nursing major, and to be quite honest, I'm having some doubts.
The more I got exposed to nursing, the more I'm concerned with becoming a nurse as a deaf female. For example, I wear a cochlear implant so I can't use a regular stethoscope and instead would have to use one specifically made for people like me, and it concerns me that the patients will see me differently and won't want me to care for them because they'll think I'm not as competent as the hearing person standing next to me.
Another thing are my grades. I have a 3.65 GPA after my first year which some people would consider good, but the university I attend is quite small and has a very competitive nursing program which only accepts 48 people every year, and some of the friends I've made that are also nursing majors have a 3.8+ GPA. As happy as I am for them because they worked hard for it, it scares me because it makes me worry I won't get into the nursing program. I know I could do better, but I had a lot to adapt to. During my second semester, my cell biology professor was a Taiwanese man who had quite a thick accent which made it even more difficult to understand him, so I had to work twice as hard in that class. I was placed into lecture halls for some of my classes with high ceilings which called for a lot of echos, also making it more difficult for me to understand. I know if I didn't have these obstacles, I would've done much better but my parents told me that given my situation, I'm doing quite well for myself but I worry it's not going to be enough for the admissions board when I apply to the nursing program.
I know we have the American Disabilities act, but I can't help but wonder sometimes if the nursing program won't take me because I'm deaf and I feel that it's essential for a nurse to have all their senses intact since they have people's lives in their hands. This whole year I've been trying to look at other majors but I always see something that prevents me from considering the major because of my hearing.
I feel like being deaf has really set me back in a lot of ways and it keeps me up at night because I worry about my future and I worry that I won't be able to land a stable career with a stable salary. I know I'm fortunate enough to have a cochlear implant, but I still struggle even with my cochlear implant because it doesn't mimic normal hearing.
