African American Nurses in NICU

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I have been a level III NICU RN for 13 years and have never worked with any other African American Nurses. Where is everbody. I have worked in 3 diffren hospitals and have seen no one. I work county hopital with a 50 bed NICU. I would just like to talk to some one of my culture about experences.:)

Like it or not race is an issue in this country. I do not know of a culture that would not like to see someone from there own culture in a stressful situation such as having a child in the NICU.

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It sound as if you have a location problem as well as racial. Unfortunately that goes on here in Texas. Most of the AA nurses are given the quickest jobs in the nursing homes, private duty,medical-surgical and what some would consider "non-specialty" areas. To try to keep "certain" nurses out. When I first graduated almost 15 years ago in East Texas it was very difficult for an AA nurse to even get into a nursing program. And once you graduated all the White nurses I attended school with got hospital jobs. While we AA nurses could only get nursing home jobs. AA nurses were frequently told nothing was available. Only to see your white classmates saying how they just loved their new job at one of the area hospitals. But upon moving to Dallas I did note that AA nurses frequently had hospital jobs but there were certain areas you hardly saw any. One of which was NICU. Things are a little better now; But not much. Anyway just a little tidbit. Perhaps if possible you should relocate. Good luck to you!!!

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Specializes in Infectious Disease.
I have been a level III NICU RN for 13 years and have never worked with any other African American Nurses. Where is everbody. I have worked in 3 diffren hospitals and have seen no one. I work county hopital with a 50 bed NICU. I would just like to talk to some one of my culture about experences.:)

I'm currently a student nurse in Washington state, and I'm African-American/Caucasian and I often wonder when I too will have an African-American instructor, preceptor, or even another student nurse. I think it is totally discouraging sometimes---it is hard to be the only minority (of any kind) in a group..it makes me sad that most people who look like me in hospitals are the techs and maintenance people. Both are good jobs, I just wish people of color were more spread out at all levels of occupation. That is unbelievable that you've never had another AA nurse with you on staff, that is a hospital problem for sure.

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At the hospital I work, there are many AA nurses in the NICU. Half of the fellows are black females. One is actually from Africa. I have floated to a unit where I was the only white person. I live in the southeast ad have never noticed a hospital that didnt have a good mixture of races. I dont think hiring would have ever depended on race, so when you hire based on qualifications, you naturally get a mixed group of people!

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Believe me I am relaxed! I love NICU nursing, if I did not I would not have continue for the last 14 years. What I am trying to say is

1. I feel the black inner city families would benefit from more black nurses in the NICU

2. Young teen mom with babies in the NICU would see some positive role models.

I have not seen many black nurses apply to NICU so I do not think in my city it is a problem of not getting hired because of skin color. I put this thread out because I just want to talk with other black NICU nurses.

I agree totally with the above posting. I think it is the hospital administrators responsibility to hire a ratio of nurses equal to their clientèle.

I am a black nurse (new grad), and I have just accepted a position in a level II NICU. I know that I will be one of two black nurses in the unit. Hopefully I will see more soon. For that to happen, more black women and men will have to want to be nurses.

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Hi everyone,

I am an African-American nurse who works in a Level III/IV NICU in Maryland. I work in a NICU that has approximately 80 nurses who are part of regular staff (ie - not agency). There are 11 African-American NICU nurses including myself. That does not include the 2 African American females who are Neonatal Nurse Practitioners. The majority of nurses on the unit are Caucasian adn there are other nurses of various nationalities from Middle Eastern, to Hispanic etc. We are somewhat diverse....we have a little bit of everything :)

I must be jaded working in my NICU. When I went to the NANN conference in Palm Springs, CA last October (in attendance from my NICU 3 African-American Nurses ) there was a African-American Nurse who had never worked with any nurses of her race much less saw one in Tennesse where she works. She was stunned when she found out we came from the same unit.

Hi :welcome:

I am an AA nurse. I have been a nurse for thirteen years, three as a RN. There are limited RNs in Southern NJ. Yet I have only seen one in ICU in the area that I live in, she is a friend of mine, for ten years now. She has gone through harassment the entire time, yet she has endured it.

Unfortunately, racism does exist in the nursing field. The largest number of black RNs that I have seen have been in state facilities. Other than that we are limited in numbers. The largest quantitiy of black nurses as a group that I have seen have been LPNs. I started out in med-surg as an RN and left the hospital because of harasssment by coworkers and managers. Every AA that came to that particular floor was treated like that until they left to go to other floors or resigned. I hope that one day this will not go on in nursing, that we can truly work together as a united team.

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

We have several black nurses/LPNs/aides (one who just graduated and will soon be an RN!) And several of my nursing school instructors were black. I'm surprised there are areas that there aren't many. I shouldn't be, I guess, but I am.

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We have several black nurses/LPNs/aides (one who just graduated and will soon be an RN!) And several of my nursing school instructors were black. I'm surprised there are areas that there aren't many. I shouldn't be, I guess, but I am.

Like you said in your quote "one who just graduated and will soon be an RN" that is just one RN. Hospitals do not hire in mass LPNs because of the Nurse Practice Act. And because of the nurse educator shortage that may not change soon. But AA are not going into nursing in large numbers, this is a reality. Most of my friends that are RNs in my area are from foreign countries.

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Specializes in NICU.

I am an AA NICU RN!! when i started 2 yrs ago there were 5 AA RN's and now we have 9 (all women, no men) so it's improving...we have talked about the lack of diversity many times in our unit. not just AA but other races as well, asian, latino, etc. it's a 50 bed unit w/ about 120 staff members; most of them are white. oddly enough, all of our care partners/ NA's are AA except 2. there are a total of 9. (not very balanced)

i'd like to go somewhere where there's a bit more diversity as well...gonna start traveling in sept to other NICU's...i think it will be interesting to see how different things can be.

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I am an AA NICU RN!! when i started 2 yrs ago there were 5 AA RN's and now we have 9 (all women, no men) so it's improving...we have talked about the lack of diversity many times in our unit. not just AA but other races as well, asian, latino, etc. it's a 50 bed unit w/ about 120 staff members; most of them are white. oddly enough, all of our care partners/ NA's are AA except 2. there are a total of 9. (not very balanced)

i'd like to go somewhere where there's a bit more diversity as well...gonna start traveling in sept to other NICU's...i think it will be interesting to see how different things can be.

"just AA but other races as well, asian, latino," That's unusual, there is a high percentage of Asian nurses in California, Texas and northern Jersey. The only low percentage of minority nurses is truly AA and latino; the two highest minorities in the U.S. We need to have the increased number to reflect the population. Maybe one day....

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Hi

I work with several AA in my nicu. I myself am the Orientation Coordinator. It's taken several years to see more AA nurses in the nicu, when i first started here back in the 80's there was myself and one other. Most of us have been at my hospital for many years.

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