Breaking Barriers in Nursing Education: A Scoping Review on the Experiences of Nursing Students With Disabilities Using Arksey and O'Malley's Framework

ABSTRACT

Despite nursing's foundational values of equity and advocacy, students with disabilities continue to face exclusion and marginalization in nursing education. This scoping review maps the current literature on the experiences of pre‐licensure nursing students with disabilities to identify common themes, research gaps, and opportunities for more inclusive education practices. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework and reported according to PRISMA‐ScR guidelines, the research team conducted a systematic search of six databases for U.S.‐based, English‐language studies published between 2013 and 2023. The team selected 12 studies based on their relevance to pre‐licensure nursing students with disabilities and analyzed them using thematic synthesis. Three overarching themes emerged: marginalization, accommodation, and disclosure. Students reported experiencing discrimination, inconsistent access to accommodations, and pressure to hide their disabilities due to stigma. The clinical setting presented the greatest challenges, with safety concerns and a lack of faculty preparedness contributing to inequitable learning environments. Legal and institutional policies were inconsistently understood or implemented, including FERPA and ADA compliance. This scoping review reveals critical gaps in the current nursing education infrastructure for supporting students with disabilities in the classroom and clinical settings. Nursing schools have a legal obligation and moral and professional imperative to champion inclusion for all their students.