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To the Editor: Dr Steinberg and colleagues¹ discussed the subtle forms of discrimination that those of us who are disabled health care professionals are faced with from our own colleagues and professions. Both the medical and nursing professions have long equated physical stamina with ability to render care to patients or make positive contributions to academia and research.

This myopic thinking that only physically able individuals can be in the health care profession robs both patients and colleagues of positive experiences as well as opportunities to share knowledge and clinical excellence. Not only must structural barriers be removed for wheelchair access, but attitudinal barriers regarding disabilities cannot be accepted. The health care community seems to have traded knowledge, skill, education, and expertise for physical stamina, endurance, and speed. Furthermore, professionals are apt to be more understanding, sensitive, and tolerant toward patients with disabilities than to their own colleagues who are . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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