Everyone is white?

[eacue]

I am posting this because I need some feedback. I work at a SW Florida hospital and well just like the title says, everyone is white lol. The entire executive team, all the board members, and to be honest, in a department with over 50 employees, I am the only minority. The hospital has this website where staff can post questions to upper management and then they post an answer. I am tempted to ask why the disparity however to be honest I am afraid that I will be terminated if I do so. Has anyone else experienced this kind of discrimination and if so did you speak up about it? Please don't ask me what hospital or what department as I have to be anonymous for fear of retribution.

[Forest2]

If you feel comfortable in your work place then just go with it ( you got a job there right?). Just because there happens to be fewer minorities doesn't mean they boycott them. If it bothers you so badly that you think you need to say something, recognize that one person will probably not change things into the way you wished they were. Just find somewhere to work that you don't feel so out of place if that is the question. I have had jobs where I felt like the odd man out, but that was my perception, in reality there was nothing that anyone was doing to me. I can't change the world, I recognize I am different and that is OK.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Living and working in Southern California at the hospital where I worked for decades, the ones where I worked registry, and the one where I was "rare per diem" (Only one weekend shift a month was required) staff has been ethnically and racially diverse. Now nursing is diverse regarding gender too as about half the new grads are men.

At the per diem job a nurse answered a colleague's patient's call light and told the assigned nurse, "Your patient asked for "My nurse". I asked him who his nurse is and he said, "The White one." We six RNs and one secretary only then realized only one staff member on the unit, including two physicians, was White. Some days all but one would be white and the "not White" one was the only nurse born in the USA.

Once I was the only one not in her or his twenties. Most of our young single nurses belonged to the Sierra Club and hiked together when they had the day off. They told me, "You are not grumpy like some of the older nurses. I think they are jealous of our youth and fitness." I never noticed this, but they did. These young attractive, slender nurses were of different races and from different countries, but had their nursing education at one of three local schools of nursing.

Unfortunately that well staffed hospital with supportive management was sold to a for profit chain. Those who had only worked there had a reality shock. Most left for other jobs. (I quit before the new corporation took over)

One hospital where I worked registry had a majority of RN staff from the Philippines. It is due to recruitment from there in the early 1980s. They also recommend to their school mates and younger alumni their hospital. In spite of the CEO and BOD not being supportive of safe staffing and sufficient supplies and working equipment they insist our state hospital regulations and Nursing Practice Act are followed so they provide the safe, effective, competent care with compassion all patients deserve.

I don't really have advice. Believe me I've experienced and observed racism, but not from fellow nurses. Only once from a surgeon, but not against me. His answer when called to report a patient had less than 30cc urine output while on IVs he said, "Fat Blacks don't pee like normal people." Because he didn't seem to have truly listened I called our Medical Director, told him exactly what was said, and got an order for Lasix. He told me to document in the chart a direct quote. He came in early, asked me to fill out an incident report and he signed it. The medical director thanked my because he had been told about this surgeon before, but no one would document it. That surgeon apologized to our staff at a meeting and told us he apologized to OR and PACU staff too.

[hypnotizer90, BSN, RN]

I think it depends as well on the area/ city you are working if the majority of population are caucasian than non - caucasian.

[Asystole RN]

On 9/7/2019 at 4:33 AM, NurseBlaq said:

I tried to not reply to this thread because there's a lot of dismissiveness and whataboutism going on. Some people truly don't understand what it's like to face micro and macro aggression on a daily basis, and some don't want to understand. Some simply can't relate or process how it occurs or don't care because they're guilty of it themselves. Fine, whatever.

But did you just really make a whole post validating racism? There is nothing to validate racism, nothing! There is no rationale. And to say it's "from a national patriotic position" is pure ignorance. As a Black Native I'm offended. My people were murdered in record numbers on their own land and it's still being stolen, not to mention the broken treaties, and here you are excusing racism with the lie of patriotism. Really? Please just stop.

Validating racism? No. An attempt to understand it's sometimes ethnocentric origins, absolutely. I firmly believe that in order for us to fight against something we must first understand it's origins and relation throughout the world. Ethnocentrism is a thing.

I would also point out that my post was in response to perceived racism in the United States versus the rest of the world.

What if we just said "racism is bad" and never taught the history of the injustices related to indigenous Americans? What if we glossed over the role of Athabaskan tribes and culture and it's conflict with the tribes of the great plains in the Southwestern United States? What if we never discussed the role of agrarian society in the Pre-Revolutionary American Colonies in regards to the slave trade in relation to modern black American racism? Does that sound like justice to you? Ignore history and just call something bad?

As a minority myself, I have found the best way to combat racism is first to understand it. With understanding we can develop the tools the combat it.

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

[NurseBlaq]

5 hours ago, Asystole RN said:

Validating racism? No. An attempt to understand it's sometimes ethnocentric origins, absolutely. I firmly believe that in order for us to fight against something we must first understand it's origins and relation throughout the world. Ethnocentrism is a thing.

I would also point out that my post was in response to perceived racism in the United States versus the rest of the world.

What if we just said "racism is bad" and never taught the history of the injustices related to indigenous Americans? What if we glossed over the role of Athabaskan tribes and culture and it's conflict with the tribes of the great plains in the Southwestern United States? What if we never discussed the role of agrarian society in the Pre-Revolutionary American Colonies in regards to the slave trade in relation to modern black American racism? Does that sound like justice to you? Ignore history and just call something bad?

As a minority myself, I have found the best way to combat racism is first to understand it. With understanding we can develop the tools the combat it.

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

I get it now.

That's not how I perceived it when I read it but thanks for clarifying.

We won't ever fully understand racism and I don't think it will ever end. What I do know is many of the things today are predicated on happenings of the past. When some of us try to acknowledge the past we're told to "let it go" and that "you weren't a slave" with many of them saying that not realizing we (non-white people) are oftentimes behind in economics, education, quality of living overall because of the foundations formed due to past misdeeds such as slavery, Rosewood, Black Wall Street, Trail of Tears, etc.

I just feel like a lot of people want to dictate how we progress and perceive things while simultaneously dismissing why we're in this predicament in the first place.

OK mini rant over.

Again, thanks for clearing up what you meant because it did kind of bother me. I now understand where you're coming from. Appreciate it.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

6 hours ago, Asystole RN said:

Validating racism? No. An attempt to understand it's sometimes ethnocentric origins, absolutely. I firmly believe that in order for us to fight against something we must first understand it's origins and relation throughout the world. Ethnocentrism is a thing.

I would also point out that my post was in response to perceived racism in the United States versus the rest of the world.

What if we just said "racism is bad" and never taught the history of the injustices related to indigenous Americans? What if we glossed over the role of Athabaskan tribes and culture and it's conflict with the tribes of the great plains in the Southwestern United States? What if we never discussed the role of agrarian society in the Pre-Revolutionary American Colonies in regards to the slave trade in relation to modern black American racism? Does that sound like justice to you? Ignore history and just call something bad?

As a minority myself, I have found the best way to combat racism is first to understand it. With understanding we can develop the tools the combat it.

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Just curious - The Athabaskan are native Alaskans, aren't they? And the Great Plains extend from the US-Canadian border to the US - Mexico border but only east of the Rockies to about the Mississippi River), so this doesn't include what I normally think of as the Southwestern US.

to me, the southwest is Arizona, NM, California, Nevada. Please clarify. I am not an expert on this topic but it is interesting to me. Thanks

[ashagreyjoy]

I live within the privilege of an ethnic majority, and I cannot relate on a personal level for that reason. It sounds like a challenging and isolating situation. I guess my question to you is, does a gross ethnic disparity in employee diversity automatically equal discrimination? The disparity of employee ethnicity is a simple fact. It exists, in extremis at your place of employment apparently. Discrimination refers to how you are treated. Are you being treated differently or unfairly than your white co-workers?

[LittleOldLadyWho, ADN, BSN, LPN, RN]

On 8/24/2019 at 2:40 PM, ConstantGardener said:

This is Florida in general. Having grown up in South and Central Florida and then setting foot on University of Florida, the socio economic disparity is just shocking. Going from about 40 to 50% minorities in upper middle class suburbs to University of Florida's 20% minorities at best was disheartening.

Also, SW Florida is less urban then SE and Central Florida, thus has attracted fewer Hispanic immigrants putting down roots, so it's super pasty.

Pasty??? Well, try being pasty with little brown spots on that pasty skin also, then tell me about being white, black, brown, red, or yellow !!!! Try being freckled everywhere the sunshine hits you! I grew up wishing I was either white or brown, anything but freckled... People with their monotone skin of any color just don't know how much bullying they do. Oh, and red hair doesn't help, either... Carrot top was one of the nicest names I was called. Also called "one of those smart girls" by people who maybe weren't so "smart".

Thank God my momma and daddy and brothers didn't contribute to the bullying. I grew up and married a man who loves my hair and freckles. Raised kids who are not racist, or judgmental of people. You can only judge someone by how they behave and how they treat or mistreat others. I

If this op is not being mistreated, called names, or snubbed by that management of coworkers, what's the problem??

[neuron]

On 9/9/2019 at 6:46 PM, Kooky Korky said:

to me, the southwest is Arizona, NM, California, Nevada. Please clarify. I am not an expert on this topic but it is interesting to me. Thanks

I believe southwestern starts near San Antonio then going west.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

On 9/12/2019 at 12:50 PM, BombiRose said:

Pasty??? Well, try being pasty with little brown spots on that pasty skin also, then tell me about being white, black, brown, red, or yellow !!!! Try being freckled everywhere the sunshine hits you! I grew up wishing I was either white or brown, anything but freckled... People with their monotone skin of any color just don't know how much bullying they do. Oh, and red hair doesn't help, either... Carrot top was one of the nicest names I was called. Also called "one of those smart girls" by people who maybe weren't so "smart".

Thank God my momma and daddy and brothers didn't contribute to the bullying. I grew up and married a man who loves my hair and freckles. Raised kids who are not racist, or judgmental of people. You can only judge someone by how they behave and how they treat or mistreat others. I

If this op is not being mistreated, called names, or snubbed by that management of coworkers, what's the problem??

cancel