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Universities seek more health care jobs for deaf | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle
The health care industry offers few high-paying job opportunities for the deaf, but that could change in the next few years.
Expanding health care career opportunities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing will be the mission of a group of higher education experts from the National Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester and Gallaudet University in Washington.
The group, which hopes to issue its findings within 18 months, was announced Wednesday at the Capitol Hill offices of Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport.
Officials from the three universities said they want to be seen as collaborators rather than competitors in promoting health care careers for the deaf.
Job training for deaf health care professionals has mostly focused on fields such as medical records management, but James DeCaro, interim president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, said there's no reason deaf people can't train to become X-ray and ultrasound technicians.
"I think it's like a lot of different professions," DeCaro said. "Assumptions are made that deaf people can't do it. With simple technological interventions, they can. Like electronic stethoscopes, something as simple as that."
About 100 of the nation's physicians are deaf, according to Gallaudet University President T. Alan Hurwitz. About one in every 1,000 Americans is deaf and many more are hard of hearing.
The University of Rochester medical school already accommodates the deaf, and the Rochester Institute of Technology offers a program for physician assistants, medical stenography and biomedical engineering.
About half the students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf are cross-registered at RIT.
"Those students have access to all of the degree programs," said RIT President William Destler.
The health care industry offers few high-paying job opportunities for the deaf, but that could change in the next few years.
Expanding health care career opportunities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing will be the mission of a group of higher education experts from the National Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester and Gallaudet University in Washington.
The group, which hopes to issue its findings within 18 months, was announced Wednesday at the Capitol Hill offices of Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport.
Officials from the three universities said they want to be seen as collaborators rather than competitors in promoting health care careers for the deaf.
Job training for deaf health care professionals has mostly focused on fields such as medical records management, but James DeCaro, interim president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, said there's no reason deaf people can't train to become X-ray and ultrasound technicians.
"I think it's like a lot of different professions," DeCaro said. "Assumptions are made that deaf people can't do it. With simple technological interventions, they can. Like electronic stethoscopes, something as simple as that."
About 100 of the nation's physicians are deaf, according to Gallaudet University President T. Alan Hurwitz. About one in every 1,000 Americans is deaf and many more are hard of hearing.
The University of Rochester medical school already accommodates the deaf, and the Rochester Institute of Technology offers a program for physician assistants, medical stenography and biomedical engineering.
About half the students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf are cross-registered at RIT.
"Those students have access to all of the degree programs," said RIT President William Destler.