Elizabeth Warren says doctors, nurses don't treat black women same way as other women

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Is it bash medical professions month and I just didn't realize it?

Don't get me wrong I do believe that prejudice exists but according to Ms. Warren, the only concievable reason for the increased materials deaths in African American women is due to doctors and nurses being prejudice. This is absolutely ludicrous.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-doctors-nurses-black-women.amp

This is reported by Fox News - an obviously biased source trying to bad mouth a contender for the presidency.

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Only two things matter in news.

Is it verifiable? And what is the whole picture, instead of the authors cutting and framing stories.

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There's abundant research backing up her claim. Black women are expected to tolerate higher levels of pain for instance, which is sick. Here's one link:

https://www.oprahmag.com/life/health/a23100351/racial-bias-in-healthcare-black-women/

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Specializes in C-EFM, L&D/Postpartum/AP/PACU.
On 4/28/2019 at 2:08 PM, KonichiwaRN said:

“And there is a specific problem, as you rightly identified, for women of color who are three, four times more likely to die in childbirth,” Warren said. And here's the thing, even after we do the adjustments for income, for education, this is true across the board. This is true for well-educated African American women, for wealthy African American women, and the best studies that I'm seeing put it down to just one thing, prejudice,” she added (Fox News, 2019)."

Notice the phrase, "just one thing--and prejudice."

You are assuming that she is saying that all of the prejudice exists in the hospital. Statistically, black women ARE treated differently with regard to pain especially in both hospitals and medical office settings. That is not to say that every single nurse and doctor is a prejudiced. Again, implicit bias does exist and many don’t realize when that is happening, but that is not all that is happening

In addition to implicit and outright bias, there is also systemic racism, everyday interactions with those who have implicit biases, microaggressions that happen over and over even by friends and family of black women who are not POC and don’t necessarily realize they are doing and saying things that are offensive. Ultimately, most studies show that it is the cumulation of racism that black women face that causes poor outcomes. Imagine living in a society where you are just EXHAUSTED by the continuous onslaught of oppression, bias, judgement, disproportionately higher incarceration and murder rate of people who look like you, and then add sexism on top of it. There are long term health effects from that sort of stress, and yes it is a direct result of racism.

Whether you are interested in voting for Warren or not, this is an opportunity to sit with this uncomfortable truth and do some introspection about how you and your colleagues can do better. We can all do better.

Also, while Warren is not my first choice for President, I give her big kudos for bringing the health outcomes of black women to the national stage. It would not occur to most other politicians to give a second look to poor maternal morbidity and mortality at all (and it is piss poor in this country given how much we collectively spend on it), let alone the even poorer outcomes of black women and to even begin to speculate why it is happening, and that includes other politicians who are women. Very few politicians in the history of this country would bring such an issue to light knowing that they are implicating themselves as partially responsible.

This is a bold and brave move on her part and it may even bring about funding, research, and change that will benefit black women. I thinking sitting for a moment with the question of why so many nurses seem automatically offended at this is important as well. This wasn’t a flip comment about playing cards on shift. This was a call to action to make things better. Why wouldn’t we want that?

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Specializes in Cardiology.
20 minutes ago, LLLovely said:

Why wouldn’t we want that? 

^^^This^^^ everything in her post is spot on

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On 4/28/2019 at 12:30 AM, bug2621 said:

*sigh* Her political motives aside...she has a point. Now to generalize and say that all nurses and doctors treat black women differently, is far reaching but there is implicit bias out there, not only have I seen it, I’ve experienced it.

I worked PRN at a hospital and went in around 2 am with 10/10 colicky abdominal pain and I’d had n/v/d for hours. I went to that ED because it was closest to my house. The nurses were nice enough but didn’t seem to take me too seriously. The MD comes in and does an exam and when I wince as he’s palpating, he actually asked “ are you sure that really hurts” with a very condescending tone. They were treating me like a drug seeker, even after I told them I was a nurse there. They finally ordered a CT and gave me a bag of fluids and protonix, saying it was acute gastritis. The MD even said my CT was negative. The pain went away but returned with a vengeance that afternoon. This time I went to the hospital I worked full time at. One of the residents recognized and pulled my records from the hospital. He told me that everything I was experiencing sounded exactly like gallstones and when he pulled my CT (from the other hospital) it confirmed it. I went to surgery that night because it was so inflamed.

So whether you believe my story story or not, take a moment to do some research on this matter and you’ll see that lots has been done, especially in regards to the AA are treated for pain by providers.

Of course I believe you but I’m a white nurse & have had the same thing happen to me.

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She talks like most doctors and nurses are prejudice professionals.

Anyway, I just hope that everyone is honest with himself/herself. I sleep peacefully because I'm honest, honor my words, and value my integrity. Lying won't fix anything but growing another issue.
~Peace starts within ourselves.

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Specializes in C-EFM, L&D/Postpartum/AP/PACU.
2 hours ago, FlyHighTiff said:

Of course I believe you but I’m a white nurse & have had the same thing happen to me.

I’m sorry this has happened to anyone. Did you know that even physicians are treated poorly in maternal child settings when they are women who say they feel something is wrong? Stuff happens. However, we aren’t really talking about either of those things. Your anecdotal experience does not negate the fact that this happens at an alarmingly higher rate to blacks (not POC in general) and an even higher rate to black women.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be pissed about what happened to you, but your experience doesn’t speak to the bigger picture here.

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3 hours ago, FlyHighTiff said:

Of course I believe you but I’m a white nurse & have had the same thing happen to me.

It may have happened to you, but it doesn’t happen to White women at the same rate as Black women. The research shows an alarmingly high rate of poor outcomes. “African American women die in pregnancy or childbirth at a rate of three to four times the rate of white women – and this has been true for fifty years.”

Maternal morbidity and mortality is an indicator of how well a country is doing economically, and it’s a political piece that should be addressed in the U.S.

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Wow.

Systemic racism is so real, that no minorities in this nation ever made it to the top.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
21 hours ago, KonichiwaRN said:

My point exactly!

How dare she alleges and claims that we, nurses, have prejudice in our minds when it comes to our patient care?

And people actually defend her. Which astonishes me.

But that's the subtlety of prejudice. We react in ways that are innocent but thoughtless. Personally, I admit that I have some level of unconscious stereotypical stupid thoughts but make a conscious effort not to act on them. I can't appreciate the REAL lives of others and I don't expect them to appreciate all the experiences that make me who I am. This is hard stuff. The best I can do is think of justice as a virtue to guide my actions. And, on the side, hope I can go to my nephew's Bar Mitzvah this weekend without being shot...in a synagogue with Jersey barriers in front. Yes, accustomed to the hate:(

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Specializes in CCRN.

As a black nurse, who has my own experience in this field with discrimination, I am disgusted this thread was created from outrage of the messenger than the message. This is not a partisan issue! All sides of the political spectrum should call attention and action to correct the failures of the healthcare system to black women and black newborns (the sad part is this is old news). It does not matter the socioeconomic and educational background of the black women (see Serena Williams experience and read the reports), healthcare, in general, does not believe black women when they are in distress.

This calls for all healthcare professionals who are not female and not BLACK (yes, that means you, person of color who is not black and female; that means you, minority who is not black and female), to practice self reflection on your own biases and prejudices when caring for black women. You are not immune to these biases and prejudices. Your dismissal of these disparities perpetuates the failure within our healthcare system, making you a contributor to these factors.

Please educate yourself, as this is shameful reflection of this nation.

I have yet to give birth and I would like to someday. However, I cannot deny that I fear being pregnant in this nation as a black woman. Although, I have multiple higher education degrees, homeowner, living comfortably, a healthcare professional all my adult life both military and civilian...I still fear I will be perceived as a black woman first, than a human being first.

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