Racial Discrimination in the Nursing Profession

[MasterStreet]

Racial discrimination is the discrimination of minority individuals based on their race, skin color, or ethnicity. Racial discrimination is a popular topic today evidenced by instances of police shooting unarmed suspects and individuals calling the police on minorities for no reason. The problem is exacerbated by social media videos and political influences. Racial discrimination can occur in any setting including your work setting, stores and restaurants, a job interview, and even applying for credit.

The nursing profession is not immune to the problem of racial discrimination either. Less than 25% of the nursing workforce in the United States are minorities. Racial discrimination can be the basis for failures to promote, termination, patient requests, and disciplinary actions. Have you ever been told that the patient requested "only white nurses", or they stated that they "did not want a black nurse"? These are some examples of racial discrimination demonstrated by patients in the nursing profession. Minority nurses may experience racially motivated bullying and feel as if they are being talked down to by other members of the interprofessional healthcare team, such as physicians, managers, supervisors, administrators, and even colleagues and coworkers. The failure to promote based on racial discrimination has been happening for years and is the basis for many discrimination lawsuits.

My Story: My own personal experience with racial discrimination in nursing stemmed from a situation of failure to promote. I had been an employee working for a healthcare facility for approximately three years. In the course of my employment, I had obtained a Bachelor Degree in Nursing and was working on a Master's Degree in Nursing Administration. A month or so prior to the incident, I was trained in the charge nurse/supervisor role and began to fill in in the absence of the supervisor. When the supervisor was promoted to the nurse manager position it was expected that I would move into the open supervisor position. The position was posted and there were both internal and external candidates. During the application and interview process, I continued to fill in in the supervisor position, which lasted for a little over a month. I was eventually notified that the position had been given to another internal candidate who had not even completed the 90-day probation period. Other contraindications for this promotion included the selected candidate not having a bachelor's degree and not being already trained in the position. We both had charge nurse and supervisory experience, although she had been a nurse longer than me, I had more experience in that specialty and setting. The only major difference between us was race. How can a new employee with less experience and credentials be chosen for promotion over a 3-year employee with the experience and credentials, and already trained and doing the job? I asked myself the same question. Even after the other nurse was promoted, I continued to fill in as the relief charge nurse. So did that mean I was good enough to fill in but not good enough to be the permanent supervisor? The whole situation affected me very negatively. I lost confidence in myself and began to think about quitting the master's degree program. I began to question if it even mattered that I had an advanced degree because my race and skin color would block me from moving up in the nursing profession. I became so discouraged and disillusioned with being in nursing administration and eventually changed my concentration to nursing education. For days it clouded my thoughts and judgment. I had trouble sleeping and just felt bad in general. Eventually, I decided that I had to address the situation in order to move on.

There are measures you can take to protect yourself against racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is a violation of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964". Minority nurses who feel that their civil rights have been violated should first file a complaint with their organization's human resource office. In some cases, a complaint must be filed with your organization's corporate human resources office. If the issue is not resolved, the nurse may choose to take action outside of the company and retain an attorney for the potential of filing a Civil Action Lawsuit. In some instances of racial discrimination, you may react negatively lashing out or becoming indignant. This is the wrong action to take. When dealing with instances of racial discrimination in nursing remember to:

• Confront the situation but stay professional
• Keep a written record of occurrences
• Do not quit your job
• Attempt to resolve the issue internally
• Seek outside counsel if necessary

Being racially discriminated against may not be a big deal to some, but the truth is discrimination can affect you mentally, emotionally, and even physically. No one should be allowed to make you feel diminished or second best based on the color of your skin. Are there any other minority nurses out there who have experienced racial discrimination in nursing?

[pro-student]

So, essentially you are insinuating the OP is crying wolf??

I'm not insinuating anything. If you read what I wrote you'd see I stated outright that the situation the OP described very well could have been motivated by racism but even by her own account, there could have been several other and completely innocuous reasons why she didn't get the promotion.

I also agreed with her underlying thesis: that racial discrimination exists in nursing (as well as in every other area of society). I also added that individuals who experience discrimination of any kind can and should bring their complaint to the EEOC which will investigate and bring action against the employer if there is a valid case of discrimination all without the individual needing to retain private legal counsel out of his or her own pocket. Reporting to the EEOC also aids in tracking patterns of discrimination and can have a long-term positive impact beyond of individual incident.

I share the ideal of reducing and eventually eliminating racial discrimination from the workplace. As such, I offered constructive criticism because we are more likely to achieve our goals if our arguments are strong and our actions consider the long-term. I'm not saying the OP is crying wolf but the analogy may be apt. If we make poor arguments then no one will believe us when, and I do mean when, it occurs.

[MasterStreet, MSN, RN]

@Delia37 thank you for the support, I agree with your comment 100%. Everyone will have their own opinion but the point of the article is not about winning a case, but standing up for what's right, turning a blind I won't make it go away.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

A brave article that brings to light something that most would rather pretend isn't happening. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) the current political and social climate has thrust the truth of it out into the spotlight and it is very difficult to look away from. It is also very difficult to look directly at. How many of us would like to believe we do not have any social bias? How many of us decry the idea of privilege, finding it far more comfortable to believe the playing field is level, despite all evidence to the contrary?

Keep singing your truth, OP. We all need to hear it, think about it and let it and stories like it change us from the inside out. I am torn up about what is happening in our country and will do what I can to be part of the solution. Sometimes that looks like listening, accepting, thinking and giving credence. Your truth is yours and someone's unwillingness to entertain the idea that it isn't true has less to do with you than it does them. Summary dismissal is just too easy and almost never the right response and it is brave of you to subject yourself to it in the name of putting light on a subject so many prefer to ignore.

[pro-student]

It's clear the OP would rather preach to the choir rather than discuss meaningful change. I say that not to diminish the validity of her experience. Choirs need preaching to too. I was hoping to elevate the conversation to include those who don't blindly agree that any time a monitory doesn't get a promotion, blatant racism is to blame. My point in trying to challenging the OP to elaborate and strengthen her argument was that, as written, it will carry 0 weight with anyone who wants to critically consider the issue. Furthermore, it's likely to be seen as playing the race card because she didn't get her way. Respectfully, I suggest this approach does more harm than good because, if racial discrimination did actually take place, a narrative like this not only gives the transgressor an excuse to sweep it under the rug but also to claim they are the victim of wild accusations motivated by jealously or spite.

I'm not insensitive. I have had a similar experience and reported it working my way up the chain of command. All that got me was retaliation for "going above someone's head" and I was put in a situation in which my job was in jeopardy before having to make a report to an outside agency. I know, probably better than most, how difficult and lonely that is, how much it makes you question your every action, how hard it is to go to work everyday for an employer that mistreated and continues to mistreat you knowing that if you quit, you have almost no recourse. How vulnerable it makes you feel.

Suggestions that I am complicit in discrimination by simply asking questions, I lack empathy because I try to advance the conversation, and would only be credible if I were a minority myself (not that it matters, but I am several times over) are red herrings seeking to stifle a legitimate dialog. But even all that is fine because I've disturbed choir practice by suggesting that the congregation might benefit from a sermon as well.

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

OP very enlightening article. I give you kudos for writing this. From reading what you wrote about the promotion. It is really hard for me to see the discrimination angle. There are varying differences between you and the other candidate, not just race. During the interview it is possible the other candidate may have had other answers to their questions. If there was a peer review, it may be possible some of your peers do not perfer your Charge style. I think there are other possibilities, not just race. I don't want to diminish the fact that race could very well have been the factor, however, there are too many other possibilities.

Your reaction of completely changing your concentration is pretty stong. I would think you would want to continue in administration to ensure practices of racism are eliminated. You should want to be part of a change, not changing because you did not get the promotion.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I am not trying to shame anyone as much as suggest that, due to our past history, perhaps it is time to approach things from a perspective that it very well could be a bias, conscious or otherwise. I look at what happened to Serena Williams, who was shamed very publically recently for a reaction that was nothing like the penalty exacted on it, when white men have gotten away with far, FAR worse for a very long time, and spurring in turn discussion of society's discomfort with authoritarian reactions or actions from black women and a desire to label them, quash them and silence them.

I think the focus on the potential for the mentioned example to be something other than discrimination prevents the conversation from happening by diverting attention away from a very real problem that the OP was brave to bring up. It does the opposite of fueling conversation. It prevents it from occurring by immediately pointing out all the ways the OP is potentially wrong. The truth is, bias is often very insipid. It slinking back when the light gets shone directly on it doesn't mean it wasn't ever there. It isn't a red herring to point out that refusing to discuss it by stating the OP is erroneous in her assessment is part of the problem. It is identifying a huge part of the problem. Stating it isn't a problem because the assessment may be incorrect? THAT is a red herring, the definition of which is to follow misleading or distracting clues. Proving bias is very, very difficult and everyone knows it.

[MasterStreet, MSN, RN]

@RNNPICU, thank you for your comment. I appreciate all opinions on the topic which is why I wrote the article. To clarify some of your statements, if you did not not the candidate who received the promotion was not even eligible for it because she was still in her 90 day probation period. Several organizational policies were not followed in the process. If an external candidate had gotten the job your statements would be valid, but not in this situation. As for my reaction, we are all different and feel and handle things differently, which is why I stress you never know how people are affected by discrimination until it happens to you.

[MasterStreet, MSN, RN]

It's clear the OP would rather preach to the choir rather than discuss meaningful change. I say that not to diminish the validity of her experience. Choirs need preaching to too. I was hoping to elevate the conversation to include those who don't blindly agree that any time a monitory doesn't get a promotion, blatant racism is to blame. My point in trying to challenging the OP to elaborate and strengthen her argument was that, as written, it will carry 0 weight with anyone who wants to critically consider the issue. Furthermore, it's likely to be seen as playing the race card because she didn't get her way. Respectfully, I suggest this approach does more harm than good because, if racial discrimination did actually take place, a narrative like this not only gives the transgressor an excuse to sweep it under the rug but also to claim they are the victim of wild accusations motivated by jealously or spite.

I'm not insensitive. I have had a similar experience and reported it working my way up the chain of command. All that got me was retaliation for "going above someone's head" and I was put in a situation in which my job was in jeopardy before having to make a report to an outside agency. I know, probably better than most, how difficult and lonely that is, how much it makes you question your every action, how hard it is to go to work everyday for an employer that mistreated and continues to mistreat you knowing that if you quit, you have almost no recourse. How vulnerable it makes you feel.

Suggestions that I am complicit in discrimination by simply asking questions, I lack empathy because I try to advance the conversation, and would only be credible if I were a minority myself (not that it matters, but I am several times over) are red herrings seeking to stifle a legitimate dialog. But even all that is fine because I've disturbed choir practice by suggesting that the congregation might benefit from a sermon as well.

I appreciate your comments and opinions on the topic. I am not looking for anyone to agree with or validate my situation, just an open and honest dialogue. Thank you

[broughden]

I'm not insinuating anything. If you read what I wrote you'd see I stated outright that the situation the OP described very well could have been motivated by racism but even by her own account, there could have been several other and completely innocuous reasons why she didn't get the promotion.

I also agreed with her underlying thesis: that racial discrimination exists in nursing (as well as in every other area of society). I also added that individuals who experience discrimination of any kind can and should bring their complaint to the EEOC which will investigate and bring action against the employer if there is a valid case of discrimination all without the individual needing to retain private legal counsel out of his or her own pocket. Reporting to the EEOC also aids in tracking patterns of discrimination and can have a long-term positive impact beyond of individual incident.

I share the ideal of reducing and eventually eliminating racial discrimination from the workplace. As such, I offered constructive criticism because we are more likely to achieve our goals if our arguments are strong and our actions consider the long-term. I'm not saying the OP is crying wolf but the analogy may be apt. If we make poor arguments then no one will believe us when, and I do mean when, it occurs.

You might be legit. You might actually be an ally against racism.

But when someone says something like,

I would caution you against playing the race card especially with such thin evidence.

it calls their integrity into question. Because typically the only people saying things like this are white people who want to deny systemic racism and white privilege.

Oh wait...nevermind. I kept reading. Now you want to play the victim.

I was hoping to elevate the conversation to include those who don't blindly agree that any time a monitory doesn't get a promotion, blatant racism is to blame.

[Night__Owl, BSN, RN]

So, I don't want to get into a debate on your situation, as none of us was there. If you believe it was racial, you're the person who has the most facts about the situation.

I do want to share a story that happened at my hospital (also Alabama) awhile back. We had someone in your same position, she was a white woman who was a staff nurse in one of our departments, but she also filled in as a relief hose supe. 20+ years of experience. When one of the full time supe positions opened up, basically everyone was rooting for her to get it, because she did a very good job when she filled in. The position was filled by an external candidate, another white woman roughly the same age. The other house supervisors told us it was basically a "political" move, and she had been on track to get the job until a certain person with the right connections, who had something personal against her spoke up.

[pro-student]

There are a couple of things unusual about this situation. The OP claims the racial discrimination was limited to a single promotion decision. However, in most cases of discrimination against a protected class, there is often a pattern of discrimination or mistreatment, often subtle and covert. I asked the OP to elaborate on this but she has chosen not to do so.

We all know racial discrimination happens everyday in myriad ways. But we also know that not everything is attributable to racism. Employers have wide latitude to make decisions like hiring, firing, promoting, scheduling, assignments and these chooses are rarely made on a single factor alone. When the OP incorrectly states that, "The only major difference between us was race." after having listed a number of differences, this suggests a foregone conclusion was made. She didn't get a position she wanted (but was never guaranteed), was upset about it, and since the person who did get the position was of another ethnicity, clearly racial discrimination was at fault.

Now one of two things could happen. First, if she was actually discriminated against because of her race, she has failed miserably to demonstrate any connection and therefore given anyone who wishes to (including any actual racists) an easy out. Not only that, but by throwing an accusation like racial discrimination without any support, she makes herself look like a sore loser looking for someone to blame.

Second, if she really was discriminated against based on her race, she could have carefully collected and documented the reasons she felt this was the case, talk to the decision makers about why she was not selected in a non-confrontational manner, and make a report to the appropriate individual/agency who would be obligated to investigate a credible claim.

Now let's assume the decision was racially motivated and play out each of those scenarios. In the first one, our swiss cheese allegation is likely to fall on deaf ears since there are so many holes in it to hide even true racial animus. Furthermore, the perpetrator will have gain confidence in his or her ability to discriminate with impunity.

In the second scenario, individuals who are trained to uncover workplace discrimination will do a full investigation which will immediately give the perpetrator pause since they will inevitably have to explain their actions. Granted, they may be able to avoid detection, but they will certainly think twice about discrimination in their future decisions. There is also the possibility that their nefarious acts will come to light and they will have real and potentially severe consequences.

I would argue that even in the worst case scenario, situation two will at least put the perpetrator "on notice" that they are under scrutiny. Will it root out racism? Probably not. Will it make it much harder for discrimination to be used against others in the future? Most likely.

For all of those who think that taking a moment to think critically about an alleged incident of racial discrimination is inappropriate and, itself a racist act, how would you imagine the situation play out? There's been a lot of vitriol directed at me for merely suggesting there are other questions to be asked. So how do you envision such situations should be handled? If asking questions is offensive, how would any type of investigation proceed? Or is the alternative a kangaroo court where all someone has to do claim racial discrimination and some punishment is exacted/restitution granted? I'm genuinely curious how this notion that racial discrimination exists whenever someone alleges it would play out. Is no one willing to admit that not every time a minority doesn't get their way, racism is not the only possible cause?

[Ms_Interpret]

OP,

You don't need to tailor your argument to convince someone who already has their mind made up. Neither do we as a collective need to insist that the argument against discrimination or abuse of any kind be bulletproof in order to taken seriously. People who feel like protecting the vulnerable among our population does a disservice to them or their cohort are only exposing their myopia - which renders the cogent argument they demand a waste of time and energy anyway.

I find that when dealing with those types, the best course of action is to refrain from response and let their own words reverberate back to them in the silence of their discontent...rather than let their angry voices drown out the voices of support - which, more often than not, is exactly their motive.

I hear you. I respect your point of view. And I support you.