Racism in the workplace

[staygold]

Not to be a downer or anything but I have noticed some harsh things said about patients and sometimes even co workers in my unit when they think no one else can hear them. Has anyone else dealt with this?

[bcskittlez]

:monkeydance:

nursing is a second career for me, this will be my thirteen year, third as an rn. and i must say that i have seen many road blocks; obstacles presented simply because i am an african american. it has nothing to do with my personality, clinical skills...etc... i went down south to visit relatives;mississippi, alabama and georgia, and quite frankly i felt more comfortable down there, then up north where i live. the thing that we both agreed on, is that racisim is as american as apple pie. the only differnce is the way that it is presented by the individual, in the south they are open about it, while in the north it is covert.

each person is entitled to their own belief system but when it affects the quality of life for an individual, i have a problem with it. i went back to school after working as an lpn for ten years because i wanted to expand my education and opportunities. but i found obstacles when i went into the medical hospital, obstacles of racism from my co-workers. as a result i left and went on to another field of nursing. i will never go back to that aspect of nursing because of the way that i was treated. to this day that aspect of nursing in this "magnet" hospital does not have african-american nurses as staff, for the same reason.

i bring up this example for one reason only, to let one and all know that although we may not be vocal about it racism exists. the next time you go to a hospital notice how many african-american nurses you see. and if the percentage is low, there is a reason for it, and it usually has something to do with the way they are treated. i work in a state psychiatric hospital now, about 25% of the nurses there are african, african -american ,the remaining percentages consists of several other culture groups. the racism is minimal compared to medical hospitals and private institutions, i think that i'll stay there in fact i know that i'll stay there.

this is so very discouraging.. this is the reason why i have contemplated over and over again whether i really want to do this even though i have wanted to do this since i was 6 years old. this will also be my 2nd career, i am a business systems analyst right now. the person who taught me all i know was an open racist. she stated to management that it is her choice to not like black people as long as she treats them with respect on the job. she did just that, and i treated her with respect. i became her boss in under 6 months. but thats beside the point. the real point is, i always gave 300%! im so very tired of that! as soon as "some" look at my brown skin (even though my great-grandfather is completely white), i'm marked... and watched... i already deal with that in the field i'm in.. doesn't matter that my father is a certified genius through mensa.. doesn't matter that i was already on the twelve grade level in the 3rd grade, just matters that my skin is brown and you need to watch her. you mean to tell me i will be going through that all over again?!

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Racism is NOT exclusive to Nursing.

Racism is alive and well in every single career choice known to mankind.

Please, do not take comments on the world wide web site and try to make them fit into a neat little box and call it, "Racism is Exclusive to Nursing and it is Unique".

And, yes, I've suffered at the hands of racists all.....my......life.

[Nitngale]

I've never been to Mississippi but having spent my entire life in Georgia, I've never heard a Northerner (seriously) referred to as a Yankee.

I was stationed in Augusta, GA and not only did they refer to me as a Yankee (I'm from CA) but they knew I was from CA. I was surprised 'cuz I never think of Californians as having an accent. Maybe it was the way I dressed(I live in sweatshirts). In the little mall (1980's) there on Sundays, the men were all in suits and the ladies were all in dresses and hats. It looked like a scene from "Steppford Wives". I loved it 'cuz I felt like I was in a different place (though you could never get me to dress like that) Nowadays, no matter where you go everyone looks the same. You go to Japan and the kids have baggy pants, backward hats and on skateboards. I could stay in the US and see that

[Nitngale]

I have dealt with it during a clinical rotation. The instructor would make inappropriate comments about various ethnic groups although they were ailing patients.

That is incredible. To say something about a co worker is unethical, but to say anything derrogatory about a patient is immoral. I've seen staff talk about a dying patient dying, especially if they're unconscious, right by their bedside.

[LADYFLOWER]

PS. Ever wonder why their is no black, asian, indian, or hispanic nurse icon to post in threads? Hmm...

Ya know, I have never really thought about it. But it seems that most message boards use the same smilies, icons ect...

I might do a search to see if I can find something for my avatar.

[Nitngale]

Ya know, I have never really thought about it. But it seems that most message boards use the same smilies, icons ect...

I might do a search to see if I can find something for my avatar.

There are no male ones either! Nor are there older icons! I'm seeing a pattern here. If you went by the icons---most of us are yellow with a smiling face :wink2:

[yayalpn]

It is a shame when people make a racist remark. All of us are humans -period.As a nurse all of us were taught to treat everyone the same. My father was from Istanbul, Turkey and my mom was a poor country girl- as children we were not allowed at all to say anything to hurt anyone's feelings because it was just not right. I am sure all of us would be surprised what our patients may say about us but all of us should act properly and respect all.

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

Actually, Rosa was hand-picked to do what she did. And while she was a catalyst, she was part of a well thought out plan and had the support of an organized movement and the NAACP. The point is it takes more than just a willing spirit as much as we would like to believe it is that simple.

You're correct, it takes more then a willing spirit: it takes an environment that can capitalize on it.

And that is where talking and consensus and the formation of ideas come into play. That 'organized movement' came from somewhere. And even though the NAACP had been around for years at that point, it was the confluence of ideas that came to a head at the same time that allowed the attack on Jim Crow to actually gain traction.

And in reality, the key change was that once the very concept of Jim Crow was brought up as EVIL, people began to change their conceptions of it. For too many people, it was just some benign thing, not to trouble themselves about. And while that 'benign' view might have been completely one sided, it will take all sides to effectively move such issues along, then and now.

Just like the voluntary separation today is some benign thing for too many.

I disagree with the idea that integration is some fantasy. Are you going to get rid of all vestiges of the concept of 'I'm not like them'? No, the ability to distinguish between my 'people' and those not my 'people' was a very potent protection device in a world where limited resources must be reserved for 'my group'.

But by the same token, while we are all each defined by 'my team', or 'my political beliefs', etc., we can grow and move those boundaries. I've said it before, it comes down to this: whose society is it?

You don't have to get rid of every vestige of racism from society to realize that a much larger problem is whole communities that don't believe that society has anything to offer them.

We attacked use of 'that' word. And rightly so. I'd like to see an attack on the word, 'oreo', or, if you prefer, 'uncle Tom'. Moving ahead in our society is only caving in to 'the man' if you are making headway in someone else's house. Whose house is this?

~faith,

Timothy.

[bradleau]

We have several doctors who come in to the hospital in casual or tech type clothing to do their order writing at the desk. You would not believe the number to times,especially to a female black doctor , a family member will come up to have this "tech" doctor get them water or do some other thing because they assume this doctor is a tech. Wearing a lab coat does help identify you as a professional, but still if you are black, you are not considered anything more than a tech. Male blacks are more perceived as doctors even if they are not. Crazy huh? Our female doc's will go and get that person some water, or whatever, or get a nurse. Do the familys learn? NO! By the way, I am not Black. Also I work in the South. As nurses we intervene and politely educate the patient and family. Usually by telling them "that DOCTOR you asked for water, asked me to bring it to you".

Doesn't work usually, but we try. All of our doctors on staff are great and appreciate what we do. A nice change I believe. ;>)

[SharonH, RN]

You don't have to get rid of every vestige of racism from society to realize that a much larger problem is whole communities that don't believe that society has anything to offer them.

We attacked use of 'that' word. And rightly so. I'd like to see an attack on the word, 'oreo', or, if you prefer, 'uncle Tom'. Moving ahead in our society is only caving in to 'the man' if you are making headway in someone else's house. Whose house is this?

~faith,

Timothy.

You assume that integration or assimilation, which is what you are really talking about, is the only way to move ahead in society. That's quite an arrogant view. Many of us live in two worlds, our own segregated communities and the larger society as a whole. Quite honestly I don't see anything wrong with that.

And it's nice that you want to see an attack on the word 'oreo'. Who do you know that uses it, because I don't know any. Same for the welfare check bit. Who exactly are you talking about?

[SharonH, RN]

I was stationed in Augusta, GA and not only did they refer to me as a Yankee (I'm from CA) but they knew I was from CA. Maybe it was the way I dressed(I live in sweatshirts).

Oh well that explains it. You certainly acted like a Yankee.

I'm teasing, I'm teasing. :wink2:

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Hey people from the UK always call american people 'the yanks' doesnt seem to matter where they come from!! Now as far as smilies are concerned I have never seen yellow, green, purple nor red people walking around I think they were designed as non racial things. :deadhorse