Discrimination in the workplace

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Hello ladies, I am looking for some honest advice about something that has been troubling me. First off, I love my job...and I love being a nurse, but my work environment has never sat right with me and this is one of the reasons why.

I have this coworker who keeps making negative comments about Aboriginal patients and people in general. At first, I brushed it off thinking that I was being too sensitive and over-reacting, but last night she said something along the lines of wishing a nearby reserve would "just get their own hospital" so she wouldn't have as many native patients. I am the only Aboriginal person on my unit...and I just don't know what to do. What's worse is that when she makes these comments, nobody stops or corrects her, they sometimes even giggle along. I sent a short email that glazed over my concerns to the head manager of the obstetrics program, hoping for a sit down so that we could discuss what to do. She hasn't gotten back to me yet.

I've researched the Alberta Human Rights Act and the AHS Code of Conduct, and I can't find anything in there that gives me any clarity. I'm a fairly new nurse as well...any advice that might be helpful is welcomed.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

You have a right to be free of this and any other type of harassment in the workplace. Send your manager another email...this time with her manager and/or human resources also as a recipient. Make sure you save this, as this is now beginning your paper trail. Somehow, I think this will move her to action. With the rise in workplace violence, this needs to be headed off ​immediately!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I would also print out the email (3 copies) and place one in her box, hand deliver the other one to HR, and take the other one home for safe-keeping. You may want to email a copy to your personal email address as well. Give it a week. If you still have no response, follow this process on up the chain of command. Somehow, though, if you've added another appropriate department to your second email, I don't think it will need to go any further.

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Thank you! I just felt so hopeless because it is the second day since I voiced my concern and although there have been the regular staff emails from management, I have not received a reply yet. It's good to know that I can actually do something about this.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

I just want to point out that you started a thread about discrimination and in your first line addressed everyone as a lady. This is a site where people of all genders can come and talk about nursing issues. I would imagine it's possible the nurse you're complaining about didn't see anything wrong in discounting a race of people, just as you saw nothing wrong with discounting an entire gender. Sometimes people don't realize what they're saying it how it can be perceived.

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OP didn't mention anything about wishing the other gender had their own hospitals.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
OP didn't mention anything about wishing the other gender had their own hospitals.

No but she specifically excluded an entire gender. I was just pointing that out to show that sometimes people says things that can be taken the wrong way.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

Take this up the chain on command if you get no response from your NM. This is not just a random off color remark, this is out-and-out hateful comments…and something you should not have to put up with.

(on a sidenote, sorry if you didn't want a comment from a male )

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Specializes in hospice.

I think you guys have beat her supposed gender discrimination to death now.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
Thank you! I just felt so hopeless because it is the second day since I voiced my concern and although there have been the regular staff emails from management, I have not received a reply yet. It's good to know that I can actually do something about this.

Although this matter may be of an urgent nature for you, you have to allow the manager 7 business days to address your concerns. Once your manager has done that, if it is not to your satisfaction, you can move up to the next person and allow that person 7 business days, and so on. You have to give them more than a couple of days to respond. It would be nice if an immediate acknowledgement of the concern was given, but I believe that is purely optional.

Now would be a great time for you to pull out the policy on Harrassment in the Workplace. Every hospital has one...

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Are you the only aboriginal employee at your hospital? Try and reach out and see what others have experienced and see if it is a pattern or just this one individual in your unit. The fact you have written a letter to the head manager puts you on the radar and you need to document every encounter in the future.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
I think you guys have beat her supposed gender discrimination to death now.

Well that's your opinion. And if the post had started "hey men" the female population would be up in arms. Sorry if the gender discrimination doesn't bother you, but that doesn't make it any less valid.

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