Accomadating patients racist request?

remotefuse · Sep 7, 2018

I did take them at one point (Im not white) and they were belligerent as a group. I offered treatments/meds as ordered one time, and if they refused, I let them be.

JKL33 · Sep 7, 2018

This situation should be immediately handled by high-level administration and hospital legal representative in a definitive way rather than, by inaction, forcing one employee after another to assume the risks of dealing with it. Frankly I think they should have been told that assignments would not be made based on their racist demands and that all care will be delivered in tandem and that their actual right is to accept that or to sign out AMA. (The 2nd staff should be security and should accompany every staff member regardless of anything else).

And for the love of freaking pete this is a perfect situation to start ejecting everyone who is not the patient, for disruptive hate-mongering behavior.

The nurse who accommodates to keep them quiet: For.Shame.

ETA: I'm sorry you were put in that position!

Cowboyardee · Sep 7, 2018

The nurse who accommodates to keep them quiet: For.Shame.

In fairness, the point of accommodating the patient in this scenario is not about keeping them happy but to prevent a nurse from being racially harassed needlessly. Not sure if it's the right decision, but keeping the racists quiet probably isnt the point.

Otherwise, I agree about working this up the chain of command, getting risk management involved, and setting clear limits coming from hospital administration.

mtmkjr, BSN · Sep 7, 2018

Staff should be protected from abuse
Racist behavior and attitudes are unlikely to change in a hospital encounter
Management should communicate to the patient/family that their requests will be honored as much as possible ONLY to protect staff from THEM.

elkpark · Sep 7, 2018

At the places I've worked over the years, we would accommodate requests for gender of staff for client comfort/preference (as much as possible), but not race/ethnicity. There have been situations in which we've protected staff from nasty racist clients by not assigning them to those clients, but that was for the staff, not the client.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2018

It is listed in my hospital's patient rights and responsibilities that the pt will "accept...nurse...and other caregiver assignments." In the short term, that would mean that if I were a charge nurse, I would be assigning nurses based on the staffing situation of the unit for that particular shift. I would try not to assign a non-white caregiver, just to save that person from the situation; however, the patient/family has no right to demand certain caregivers based on race, gender, etc.

I would also escalate this quickly. As someone mentioned, involve legal--we just saw an other instance of a nurse suing a hospital for being removed from an assignment d/t race. Notify the physician--they can speak with the pt and (hopefully) inform him/her that if he/she consistently refuse treatment, etc. they will be discharged. Have security speak with the family--if they in any way abuse the caregiver, they will be escorted off the property, etc. Have the NM speak to the charge nurses about how assignments are to be handled, and the NM can make sure everyone is on the same page.

City-Girl · Sep 7, 2018

Have only seen this in little old white ladies and men with dementia and I have to wonder if the behavior was due to the dementia or what those patients actually thought. Sorry you had to experience this. I've never seen any policy for this, but patient's are not generally allowed to dictate their care, in many instances they are shown the door.

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Sep 7, 2018

In the long term care world, it is illegal to assign patient care based on patient/resident requested race selection. There have been cases of legal action by the employee against the employer.

With that said, I will not accommodate a resident or family request - but I will always notify the employee of the request and allow them to bow out of the assignment in an effort to protect them from mental/emotional abuse as well as potential false allegations.

smf0903 · Sep 7, 2018

Our policy is to send them out the damn door. Many healthcare facilities have been sued for "accommodating" racist requests from patients. We are fortunate that we have doctors who don't put up with that BS, they will discharge faster than you can blink an eye.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2018

Maybe the family can find a place with all white people so the can have all white care. No place should accommodate this behavior. Behave yourself or you are out of luck for health care. Just imagine if every race felt this way and got special treatment.

Have Nurse, ADN, RN · Sep 7, 2018

Have only seen this in little old white ladies and men with dementia and I have to wonder if the behavior was due to the dementia or what those patients actually thought. Sorry you had to experience this. I've never seen any policy for this, but patient's are not generally allowed to dictate their care, in many instances they are shown the door.

I have seen this too, however to be fair, those "little old white ladies" at least were raised during a time when their culture was such that discrimation was accepted. Also, they were not allowed to be alone in the room with anyone without a chaperone, and that included the "white" doctor.

I don't agree with discrimination practices of course, but in order to deal with it appropriately, one has to approach the issue on the level which they understand. Some of this is also based on fear, so tread gently while you address the issue.