VIRGINIA REHABILITATION CENTER FOR THE BLIND & VISION IMPAIRED 1

Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind & Vision Impaired

Rebecca L. Yauchzy

Professor Kathy S. Faw, RN, MSN

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

NUR 3113

February 27, 2017

Honor Code “I pledge.”

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Noticing

Upon our visit to Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired

(VRCBVI), I educated myself on their mission statement and emphasis on empowering students

to develop skills that facilitate an independent lifestyle. Despite coming (seemingly)

knowledgeable, I was genuinely impressed with the intentionality of the organization’s structure.

Before walking throughout the facility, we were told not to assist or move out of the way

for students in the hallways in order to make them actively apply their cane maneuver and spatial

recognition skills. Next, we had the opportunity to sit in a computer skills class that taught

students how to operate computer systems by utilizing keyboard functions instead of a mouse,

something I was not even aware of. The teacher of that course then gave us an interactive

demonstration of certain mobile device applications, such as TapTapSee, that are designed to

help blind and vision impaired individuals identify objects.

Though I did not have specific expectations for this experience, my eyes were opened to

completely new perspectives of life, patient care, and autonomy from learning and observing

things I never imagined were involved in the lives of the blind and vision impaired community.

Interpreting

My life experiences for the past twenty-two years as a female in an upper-middle class

family with sight undoubtedly shapes the way in which I go about interpreting my time at

VRCBVI. Before talking with the diabetic educator Kimberly Ladd, RN, my life circumstances

never prompted me to be aware of how vulnerable populations like the blind and vision impaired

are taken advantage of by health insurance companies. Kim informed us how many of their

students who require a specific glucometer designed for the blind are constantly told by their

insurance companies that it is not within their coverage. This is a big problem for low-income
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patients who depend on the daily use of a glucometer. Fortunately, passionate advocates like

Kim spend hours on a weekly basis calling insurance companies and fighting for the students,

reminding companies of federal laws put in place to protect the blind and vision impaired

population’s access to things such as glucometers.

Responding

One particular need of the blind and vision impaired community that stood out to me

after talking with various students and staff members is simple, yet so overlooked: respect. By

authentically listening to stories throughout the day, I recognized that nearly every individual we

spoke with emphasized their desire to receive respect from others, especially those with sight.

Many people touched on the fact that society tends use their blindness or vision impairment as a

label, instead of recognizing them as human beings. This really hit home for me when a couple

of people mentioned their distaste for how hospitals go out of the way to put signs on patients’

doors that read in large print, “BLIND/VISUALLY IMPAIRED.” They explained how labeling

them like that results in the nurses and physicians doing two things: giving care under the

assumption that being blind or visually impaired makes them unable to walk to the bathroom or

dress themselves, and refraining from talking when entering the into the room, making noises

with the medical equipment without explaining to the them what is happening. As a student

nurse, meeting this community’s vital need for respect is something that can be done effectively

by the act of asking instead of assuming, and including instead of ignoring.

Reflecting

This service-learning activity has influenced my academic life by identifying aspects of

my patient care education that lacking, specifically in regards to providing culturally competent

care to the blind and visually impaired. Though I understand it is not realistic for our curriculum
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to include in-depth education on the provision of care for every vulnerable population, I do

believe populations such as the blind and visually impaired deserve more than two power point

slides throughout six semesters worth of education.

Furthermore, this service-learning experience affected my personal life by challenging

me to view life and the individuals around me through a different lens. As I mentioned

previously, I was exposed to various things that I was completely unaware of and things that I

would have never thought were needed until I gained a different perspective. From now on, I will

encourage myself to think beyond the needs of an individual with the same culture, race,

ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and physical abilities as me because I have recognized

how it consequently limits my scope of the world. My intention of this self-challenge is to

enhance my contribution to society and the world by eliminating barriers that exist between

myself and various vulnerable populations, thereby actively participating as equals in a world

that so foolishly emphasizes differences.