In Dean Catherine Vincent's pediatric pathophysiology course, all of her white middle-class students did exceptionally well but a Mexican-American student in her class failed miserably. What was the reason for the minority student's failure? Could it be mere coincidence? It would not be the first time in history that a teacher handed out grades according to his/her racist beliefs. "Studies have reported faculty bias toward minority students in grading papers, judging clinical performance, and assessing written examinations" (Villarruel, Canales, & Torres, 2001). "Nurse educators need to acknowledge that, with a few exceptions, racism is endemic in our programs" (Barbee & Gibson, 2001).
What can be done when the faculty at Oakland University sides with Dean Vincent? Isn't it convenient that her exams are graded by hand affording her the opportunity to grade exams in any manner she pleases including racist ones?
Whites make up 86% of the registered nurse population. Despite the dramatic increase of Hispanics in the U.S., there has been no significant increase in the number of Hispanic nurses. I wonder what's keeping Hispanics out of nursing?
