Nursing education challenge: A student with cancer

Information on how to best accommodate students with disabilities, including temporary disabilities, such as cancer are lacking. In presenting a case study of a nursing student with cancer, we will show that the concept of “accommodation” can be a fluid one which will expand the discourse on nursing students with cancer. Accommodating a student with cancer differs from accommodating a student with other types of disabilities such as learning or sensory impairment and requires a team approach to support. Caring for a student facing a crisis like a cancer diagnosis requires adherence to university procedures, coordination with open-minded faculty, and support from oncology nurse experts.This case study presents a collaboration between the faculty and student (smith-stoner) who was diagnosed and treated and who recovered from Hodgkin's lymphoma during a baccalaureate program. The experience of accommodating a student during a nursing program is presented as a contribution to the literature on understanding of the experience of accommodating a nursing student with cancer.