Am I a victim of discrimination or being too sensitive?

[TheFloorisCold]

I'm a fairly new nurse (almost a year) and accepted a FT position at a rehab facility three months ago. This is my first job and the place is seems pretty heavy in terms of workload. At orientation I was the only Filipino in the class, the rest were African Americans of different ethnicities (sp?) and one Peruvian woman. We get a speech from one of the managers saying that the place is hard and you need to work just as hard, I understand that. Then we have this lady which was on the administrative end and she comes in with a chip on her shoulder. She basically talks about how the places adheres to certain policies like foreign languages are forbidden when working (I understand the need for this) but then she looks and points to me and asks "Are you a Filipino?" I nod yes and she goes talking about how the Filipino nurses keep speaking "Filipino" during work hours, mind you she only said this to me and not the other people.

Then another day I was in a dining room eating lunch and there were a group of Filipinos talking sorta loud in Tagalog and in the elevator after eating one of the nurses I was talking to just mentioned, "Oh man Filipinos are so loud in the dining room". I've also heard side talk about how Filipinos only take care of their own and won't care if their other colleagues are written up. The staffing there is about slightly below 60% Filipinos but they are around my parent's generation's age and have some positions in middle management so maybe thats why there is some ire.

Am I and others being discriminated or am I just too thin skinned?

[Fiona59]

Thin skinned.

There doesn't appear to be a problem with the other new hires speaking in their own language (English) or Spanish (I'm guessing that Peruvians speak a version of Spanish).

Why is informing new hires of institutional policy having "a chip on the shoulder".

[mazy]

I understand the requirement to speak English in your work areas, however, I think her behavior falls into the category of creating a hostile work environment, at least according to the US gov definition:

http://www.usbr.gov/cro/pdfsplus/hostilewrkenv.pdf

Not saying you should go in there with guns ablaze, but I suggest you document instances of this kind of commentary very carefully, if you decide you want to stay there. There are plenty of opportunities for personality clashes in nursing without having to deal with a supervisor who is instigating that kind of conflict.

I think that if she is capable of this kind of behavior you have only scratched the surface of all the other kinds of trouble she will try to stir up. So protect yourself with documentation.

[TheFloorisCold]

Why is informing new hires of institutional policy having "a chip on the shoulder".

Oh, the lady just came in with an attitude about that and a lot of other things not relevant to the topic I'm posting about.

[alem-tsahai]

You aren't being discriminated against. You haven't provided any examples of possible discrimination against you. The others are being racist with their constant stereotyping though.

You probably are being a little thin-skinned, but so are they! At my old facility I worked at our staff was 60-70% Filipino and I heard Tagalog all day long and yeah there was a bit of clannish-ness going there but I didn't let that bother me at all. I kept it friendly and lite when I arrived as the new employee, and eventually I was accepted in the group and they love me now :).

Your best bet is to get to know all the nurses, not just the Filipino ones (not saying that's what you are doing now). This is how stereotypes are broken down, you have to get out of your comfort zone and reach out. It's not always fair that the minority in the group has to go out play diplomat but that's how it is.

Good luck, you sound like a very nice person and I wish you the best at your new gig!

[Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN]

I vote for discrimination. If someone said "Those women sure talk loud" or "those men sure talk loud" or "those blondes sure talk loud" you bet people would be up in arms. Hopefully the women with the chip on her shoulder isn't your direct supervisor, but I would talk to whomever you can. And document.

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think you need to grow a backbone. As a latina, I have never hesitated to clarify, speak with, or pull someone aside to let them know how I feel things came across.

Had that been me, I would have very politely let her know how you are feeling.

The ladies in the elevator, I probably would have with a smile said something to the effect that they were generalizing and not all filipinos are loud or whatver you wanted.

Communicate your feelings and it usually nips things in the bud or at the very least allows the other person (in a better way hopefully) communicate what was meant.

So yea, I think you are thin skinned. Trust me, you are not the only person or ethnicity that people tend to (often times unaware) say things that if the roles were reversed they would feel it came across a little rough.

Talk to people and bet you will find life and your career a lot smoother.

Good luck

[TheFloorisCold]

I asked my aunt about it since she's an seasoned veteran of the floor and she said to ignore it because that's just how some people just are. One of my classmates said it was sorta wrong I got singled out like that but she gave me advice to be thick skinned in nursing in order to survive, and I plan to adhere to it.

[zorro_wrangler]

Just take it in stride, even if it were discrimination, and not that discimination should be tolerated; i would just ignore it and move on with it. As time passes, the very people will warm up , accept you and become one of your best friends.

[OhioCCRN, MSN, NP]

It is tough trying to work in an environment you feel is threatening to you. Being a minority in any situation is not easy.

I would weigh my options r/t the job : are you willing to put up with the behavior? or for your peace of mind find something else (which may be tough in this economy) are you willing to call them out on their behavior, risking an even larger target on your back, or suffer in silence?

Whatever you decide to do, I sincerely hope you find peace and joy for your work.

[rumwynnieRN]

It sounds like she's taking out frustrations with them out on you. If they're only doing this during break and not on the floor, I don't see the problem, but as to whether or not it's discrimination in your case, yeah, because the admin already pointed you out. If the others are talking on the floor and being obnoxious (like the dining room) then they should be called on it.

I'd ignore the comment about the people in the dining room; we can get kinda loud (I'm Filipino too, but we speak Bisaya at home).

The admin, I think you should've asked what she meant by that and why she was saying it to you specifically. So what if you're Filipino? It's not like all of us get along (I helped take care of this one lady who is Filipino and a nurse, and no, she was not nice to me. She was really snappy; I think it had more to do with the NG tube up her nose and whatever else she was there for), and if you were born here, you grew up in a different environment than the Filipinos back in the Philippines. I'm the antithesis of the Filipino stereotype, and if you asked me randomly, no, I don't like being around other Filipinos because the ones I come across gossip a lot.

Unless you get another comment like the one from the admin, ignore it. If it really bothers you and someone says something along the lines of "God why do Filipinos always do x", tell them straight that we're not all like that, and don't be confrontational about it.

Oh, and if the admin comment is really bothering you, I'd talk to someone who can talk to her about it.

[Samantha79]

I vote for discrimination. If someone said "Those women sure talk loud" or "those men sure talk loud" or "those blondes sure talk loud" you bet people would be up in arms. Hopefully the women with the chip on her shoulder isn't your direct supervisor, but I would talk to whomever you can. And document.

I would say those are stereotypes, or opinions, not discrimination. Is your pay being affected because of your race? Are you being denied a promotion because of your ethnicity? These are things that are discrimination. Your examples are just of people being rude.