Accessibility Isn’t Just a Ramp: Reimagining Healthcare with Andrea Dalzell
What does it really mean for healthcare to be accessible? Who gets to be a nurse?
Subscribe:
About this Free Podcast Episode
In this powerful episode, host MacKenzie Butler, DNP, RN, sits down with Andrea Dalzell, a registered nurse, disability advocate, and one of the most visible voices for nurses with disabilities in the country. Andrea was the first nurse to work in an ICU using a wheelchair during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her remarkable journey, from a childhood diagnosis of transverse myelitis, to fighting semester after semester for her place in nursing school, to founding organizations that are reshaping how healthcare thinks about disability, both in patients and in the nurses who treat them.
Together, they unpack Andrea’s concept of “nurse magic,” explore why disability must be part of every patient conversation, and reveal how pairing a patient’s diagnosis with their lived disability experience can close dangerous gaps in care. Andrea also offers a deceptively simple prescription for better outcomes: listen to understand, not to respond.
For anyone who’s wondered how to make healthcare more accessible, or whether a physical disability is compatible with a nursing career, this conversation will change how they see the profession.
What You’ll Learn About
In this episode
- Andrea’s path into nursing and the barriers she overcame to get there
- How she became the first nurse to work an ICU in a wheelchair during COVID-19
- Why treating “the able diagnosis” leaves dangerous gaps in patient care
- How combining disability with diagnoses like autonomic dysreflexia can save lives
- What real accessibility looks like for both patients and nurses with disabilities
- Why “nurse magic” matters and how burnout breaks the cycle
- How to build patient trust by listening first
- How nurses shape public perception through social media
Who Is Andrea Dalzell?
Andrea Dalzell is a registered nurse, public speaker, and disability advocate known online as “The Seated Nurse.” Paralyzed at age five by transverse myelitis, she was repeatedly told throughout nursing school that a wheelchair user could not safely practice as a nurse. She proved otherwise, becoming the first nurse to work in an ICU using a wheelchair during the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrea now works to expand opportunities for nurses with disabilities and to push healthcare institutions toward genuine accessibility, for staff and patients alike.
Episode Chapters
0:00
Andrea’s Journey: From Diagnosis to the ICU
10:00
Fighting for a Place in Nursing School
20:00
Rolling Into the ICU: Nursing During COVID-19
30:00
“The Able Diagnosis” and the Gaps It Creates
38:00
The Seated Standard: Building Frameworks for Disability in Healthcare
46:00
What Real Accessibility Looks Like
54:00
Nurse Magic: When Science Meets Humanity
60:00
Advice for New and Early-Career Nurses
Key Takeaways
If we truly care for people, disability has to be in the conversation.
If we truly care for peTreating patients as able-bodied by default creates gaps that can put lives at risk. Disability belongs at the center of care, not the margins.
“Nurse magic” is meant to circulate.
Closing doors on disabled nurses and patients stops it. Every nurse has a unique form of magic that the profession needs.
Listening to understand is the single biggest driver of trust.
No nurse needs all the answers. Taking five seconds to really hear a patient changes everything.
Nursing is a team sport.
Step away when needed. Find the resources. Ask for help. That’s not weakness; it’s good nursing.
Accessibility gaps affect more people than assumed, including nurses themselves.
Better access for patients and staff isn’t just a checklist. It’s dignity in action.
Notable Quotes from the Episode
If we’re truly going to care for people, disability has to be in the conversation.
Nurse magic isn’t a clinical skill. It’s when science meets humanity.
Listen to understand, not to respond.
You don’t need to have all the answers. Nursing is a team sport.
Accessibility isn’t just a ramp. It’s dignity.
Can you be a nurse in a wheelchair?
Yes. Wheelchair users can and do practice as registered nurses. Andrea Dalzell is proof: she became the first nurse to work in an ICU using a wheelchair during the COVID-19 pandemic, after being told throughout nursing school that it wasn’t possible. With the right accommodations, workflow adjustments, and institutional support, nurses with physical disabilities perform the full range of clinical duties safely and effectively.
Listen & Subscribe
Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Elite Nursing podcast on your favorite platform.
NEW!
100+ hours of CE podcasts now included with Passport Lite Membership
- Meet all your state requirements. All state CE requirements packages are included!
- Choose from 100+ CE courses by an ANCC-accredited provider
- Listen and earn CE credit with 100+ hours of podcast episodes
- Enhanced CE deadline tracking with certificate from all CE providers in one place
Only
$48
/year
Related Episodes on Nursing Career Change
ELITE NURSING
Your Nursing Career Doesn’t
Have to Follow a Straight Line —
Non-Bedside Nursing Jobs
ELITE NURSING
Using Your Nursing Voice:
The Nurse’s Role in
Policy & Advocacy
ELITE NURSING
The Role of
Nurse Navigators
in Healthcare
ELITE NURSING
Nursing Preceptorship:
Cultivating
Competence
ABOUT THE HOST
MacKenzie Butler, DNP, RN
Host MacKenzie Butler, DNP, RN, is a passionate nurse educator and advocate dedicated to helping healthcare professionals navigate their careers with confidence.
ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Elite Nursing podcast brings you hours of thought-provoking discussions organized into entertaining, bite-sized learning. We tackle the real issues nurses face every day, from career transitions to clinical excellence. Enjoy continuing education that fits seamlessly into your life—whenever and wherever you are.