Racist Patients

LHH1996 · May 29, 2009

what bothers me is the people who are ignorantly racist, don't realize the contibution in health care and many of lifes comforts and conveniences from inventions that were done by either african amercian people or other cultures..For instance..there are several heart procedures either invented or perfected by an african american person...does that mean they won't have the procedure done? i don't think so... what nerve to beable to enjoy the benifit..but bash the person who made it possible for them!!!!!!

flashpoint · May 29, 2009

Asking for a white nurse is unreal and archaic. I would be interested to know if your manager did oblige and, if yes, what their reasoning was. As for the other comments -- it is a great pity that being ignorant isn't painful. I suspect you are more than clever enough to know when someone is insulting you or not. If you think these people are trying to relate surely that is a good thing? I don't think racism is the same as ignorance but one can fuel the other. Now why they cannot relate to you on purely a human level is anybodies guess -- it is 2009 for goodness sake. Maybe the fact that they feel they can ask you stuff speaks to their respect for you.
I have no idea if this helps you reframe it or not. I am sorry that anyone would see fit to ask for a "white" nurse. That disgusts me. Wouldn't it be lovely to send in some white nurse that spoke terrible English and had bad BO. Would serve him right.
Maybe it is late and I am talking complete rubbish.

This is all very true...however...if a patient refuses any staff member for any reason, I think there should be an attempt to accomodate their wishes. If a patient tries to refuse a staff member and that staff member is assigned to them any way, who do you think is going to get blamed (by the patient) if something goes wrong? When I worked at the hospital, a patient wanted a different nurse because he felt his nurse was too fat. The nurse was assigned to him anyway and the patient and his family were both very upset. When the patient fell, both he and his family were convinced that a thin nurse would have been able to prevent the fall...not very realistic, but it still made things very uncomfortable for the nurse and management had to spend a lot of time doing damage control that they might have been able to avoid if someone had simply changed the assignment. Of course if every nurse on the shift was overweight the patient wouldn't have had a choice, but...

Trauma Columnist · May 29, 2009

What excellent answers and ways to deal with a very sticky situation. Sure makes me proud to be a nurse!

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · May 29, 2009

I thought white people in Georgia also ate collards and fried chicken? That's how it was when I lived there years ago.

scribblerpnp · May 29, 2009

I am a black female nurse who currently lives in Texas so, yes, I also catch this type of flack on a somewhat regular basis.
I am frequently mistaken for a CNA or housekeeper by visitors and some other staff members, even though my name tag that clearly states my title and I wear the color-coded scrubs that the other licensed nurses wear. My appearance and speech are also professional. Meanwhile, it is common for visitors to approach a Caucasian dietary worker, CNA, or housekeeper and automatically assume this person is "the head nurse."
A family member once blurted out, "I'm sick and tired of the care being provided by all these ____ (insert the 'N' word)!"
Another family member stated, "The black employees are so lazy."
Since I work in elder care, I deal with many elderly residents who espouse "old-school" beliefs about people from the different races. These people aren't going to be changed, so I deal with it to the best of my ability. I'll also remove myself from a situation that causes me to feel uncomfortable.
Keep your head up and don't permit anyone to play mind games with you. No one else is worth your mental health.

Bless you for the work you do. Those older people don't know how lucky they really are.

WalkieTalkie, RN · May 29, 2009

Some old bag of a patient was being mean to one of our African American techs once. She asked "You African, boy?" He said "No, I'm NEBRASKAN." LOL, she didn't even know what to say after that :)

nminodob · May 29, 2009

I am an older Caucasian male and while I was in NS I worked as a CNA in a culturally diverse county hospital. I saw just the reverse - older AA folks insisted on calling me "Doc" even though I told them I was the nurse assistant. Now that I am a nurse in the same hospital it still happens. One older man waved me off, continuing to call me "Hey! Doc!" I guess I looked the part and that was good enough for him. This only seems to happen with the oldsters who haven't figured out that most of the docs today are at least 20 years younger than me but look (to me) about 19 y.o.

rnlately · May 29, 2009

Our floor is culturally diverse. We have employees from all walks of life. We recently had a patient on the floor that said that he only wanted white nurses to take care if him. I'm not sure if our manager obliged, but I think that its never ok, also I personally just wouldn't think about this when I'm in pain or in need. Its crazy. Also I have been noticing that certain patients make comments to try and relate to me or assume that I know certain things because I'm AA. A patient said to me today,"My lipgloss be poppin.." singing a song that he thought he was relating to me by singing. Or a patient said to me " Do you eat collards and fried chicken". Little comments like that. I correct them and brush it off. I have too many other problems in my day to worry about this. Also, I should say that I reside in Ga. Is it just me?

I don't think residing in Georgia has anything to do with it (I live in S. Ga btw and am also black). I've personally never encountered any one that has been blatantly racist but there have been some situations that have been suspect. For instance I had a resident/patient ask if I was her aide for the evening; even after I had introduced myself initially and told her I was her nurse for the night. That incident could have been due to race or due to the fact that I was one of the younger or younger looking employees.

But the collard green, lipgloss poppin, chicken comments are obviously racist and the best thing to to when approached with stereotypes is to educate the offenders. Also, for the patients that request that only (insert race/ethnicity here) nurse takes care of them I try to oblige them as much as possible. In other words "ain't no love lost".

rnlately · May 29, 2009

I thought white people in Georgia also ate collards and fried chicken? That's how it was when I lived there years ago.

Yes many of them do; on a frequent basis. Check out the patrons of the local mom and pop buffets.

allnurses Guide · May 29, 2009

Some old bag of a patient was being mean to one of our African American techs once. She asked "You African, boy?" He said "No, I'm NEBRASKAN." LOL, she didn't even know what to say after that :)

Humor - that is a good way to handle it. :up:

As to collard greens and fried chicken . . . . my maternal side of the family are Arkies/Okies. We grew up eating fried chicken, chicken gravy, collard greens, okra (blech), etc. :up:

I haven't made fried chicken in a long time - it makes such a big fat mess on the stove. :down:

But I do have Swiss chard in the freezer from last year's garden . . .love that with some wine vinegar!

Those foods are "Southern" foods . . . . all colors of people eat them.

I'm also a child of the 60's and 70's . . ... I don't put up with racist or biased comments. I do love the humor idea though - diffuses the situation and then you can talk about it calmly.

steph

eriksoln, BSN, RN · May 29, 2009

Get used to it. With the modern medical model leaning more and more towards "customer satisfaction" people like the one you described are going to feel entitled to share their (toxic) opinions. If they are not catered to, they mark the survey with all 1's and your floor's funding goes down the toilet.

I had one pt. who was an avid Obama supporter. Now, at the time, I was apolitical (and still am for the most part). This pt. asked every worker if they were voting for Obama or "the evil white empire". If you didnt give an answer she liked or dodged the question, she'd fire you. Management didnt know what to do about her. Half of the housekeeping staff, 4 nurses, 2 CNA's and 1 dietary aid were not allowed to enter the room. They finally did handle it with the ethics commitee, but it took much longer than it should have.

Thats the problem with the new PG system. Its so hell bent on "customer statisfaction" that it dismisses and ability to enforce rules on patients. I've always said this was going to be a disaster. Resterants are customer satisfaction based, but still reserve the right to "excuse" a customer from the premesis if they are unruly or disruptive to other guests. We though are expected to tolerate outrageous behavior and maintain top notch service. Not realistic at all.

rnlately · May 29, 2009

Thats the problem with the new PG system. Its so hell bent on "customer statisfaction" that it dismisses and ability to enforce rules on patients. I've always said this was going to be a disaster. Resterants are customer satisfaction based, but still reserve the right to "excuse" a customer from the premesis if they are unruly or disruptive to other guests. We though are expected to tolerate outrageous behavior and maintain top notch service. Not realistic at all.

You are so right. I was accused on my full time day job of being rude to a patient because I didn't give the patient the answer she wanted to hear. Then the boss spouts off about this customer service crap and how the customer is always right.........yeah whatever. Hello..................this isn't the retail industry.