Hello, everyone out there in the world of allnurses.com I just need to get something that's been bothering me for a while off of my chest. I just want to talk about this issue especially affecting minority nurses. And that issue is that it can be hard to be a nurse of color.
I am part Somoan/part African-American and consider myself Black for the most part. Well, I just feel that after all these years, minority nurses still don't get as much respect as their white colleagues.
Always being mistaken for for support staff even though my name tag boldly states who I am and my credentials. And I even feel that sometimes, patients feel insulted by me being their nurse. It seems like that when I first go into the patient's room, before I can introduce myself properly, they always assume I am a CNA. After I explain that I am their nurse, they seem to loose that "glow". It's like they don't want ME to be their nurse. And when a previous nurse that happens to be white reports how pleasant a patient was, I don't get that "pleasant" behavior from the same patient.
We as nurses know that patients can often be demanding, rude, and downright ridiculous with any nurse. But, to the minority nurses out there, do you sometimes feel that you are being treated with less respect because your a minority? Do you feel like you get treated differently from the other nurses by the same patient?
Dee, with all due respect, you are taking one incident and extrapolating that to all scholarships for persons of color - and there are none, aside from those for NAI's, that require one to prove ethnicity.
Your friend is, frankly, a thief. It's not the system that's broken but her moral compass.
Specializes in ob high risk, labor and delivery, postp.
Actually, she was perfectly qualified for her scholarship because it was written at the time as for "spanish surname" which she did have as her name was Rodrigues.
I'm not taking "one incident" because there are many as I said. I feel that giving out scholarships simply on the basis of one's race or ethnicity is WRONG. This is definitely reverse discrimination. Seeing my daughters friends get full scholarships simply because they are hispanic despite her being a harder worker and better student is ridiculous. Now she has a huge amount of student loans to pay back while they do not. How can anyone say that this is fair? These are not impoverished people but rather they come from equal (in one case) and far superior (in the other) incomes. One's father is an anesthesiologist who pays cash for cars and houses..I don't think that they needed the scholarship.
All discrimination is simply wrong. I believe that scholarships should be given out for achievement and financial need, not because of race.
... my daughters friends get full scholarships simply because they are hispanic ...
Her friends may have been ELIGIBLE for the scholarships based on their ethnicities. However, they RECEIVED them because they were the most qualified applicants based upon the scholarships' selection criteria (which were surely more than just being Latino).
Yes, unfortunately I do know where you are coming from. I am half black and half white, however, I consider myself black, and when asked I say that I'm black. Thankfully, I do not have that problem right now because the hospital I work at has majority black patients.
In my last job, most of the patients were white and on more than one occasion there were patients who requested only white nurses, and that's fine just as long as I'm not verbally abused by racial slurs.
I go to work everyday willing and ready to care for ALL, but if some do not want my care because I'm black then so be it.
Take care!
I'm white and I do not think it is "fine" if someone requests only white nurses. That request should NOT be accomodated and I think management should not allow such requests.
I do believe that there are patients who probably believe that a black nurse is not as competent as a white nurse.
....but later I was told how nice this particular pt was, and that perhaps he was just in a bad mood, and asked did I smile and introduce myself when I went in the room. I felt so insulted! I couldn't even hold back my tears.
That truly just turns my stomach to read that :angryfire!! So freakin' insensitive that that nurse would question how you conduct yourself in your practice as a nurse! But then again, maybe that nurse was just choosing to remain in some kind of denial over the possibility that the old guy was a racist. Hearing stuff like that totally embarrasses me as a "white girl".
i am now realizing that racism must run rampant in different parts of the country.
i have never lived outside of boston since 1964.
again, i can say that where i live, aa's are NOT secondary in anyway, shape or form.
nor are other cultures/ethnicities.
if anything, there are many galas, events that celebrate the diversity of our city.
and all attend.
on the street where i live, we have block parties every summer, with aa, hispanic, greek, italian, caucasian, haitian, dominican....we all cook our own dishes and feast together.
heck, we even grab the homeless people sauntering down the street.
we have a neighborhood crime watch, with all of us looking out for ea other.
no one is segregated.
so i apologize if i came across as righteous.
it saddens and sickens me to think that such abhorrent behaviors still exist.
yep, discrimination and reverse discrimination, is alive and well.
but as sharon pointed out, my resentment is misdirected.
i've worked with (too) many substandard nurses.
i've even complained and filed written grievances.
1 was aa, 1 was white and 1 was philippino.
and so, grievances have nothing to do with race but w/performance.
but i maintain, anyone who receives secondary treatment (except from our pts ), should not accept it.
often, a firm and steady, "yes, i am your nurse today" with a steady gaze, will suffice.
you can't change some's opinions.
but with a healthy dose of self-respect and self-worth, no one can make you feel inferior.
maybe you guys should move to boston.
leslie
I live in boston,and it is differnt from how you explain it.
What hospital give African American preferencial treatment?
Boston is one of the worst places for nurses of color to find a good job. Yes it pays well but it is given to the majority firsthand.
What does that have to do with the young African Americans of today? Do we (people who did not profit for the horrible trade) need to make amends for people (not us) who did horrible things to people (who are no longer with us) ? If so, how? What will erase this part of our history? In my eyes, comraderie and respect with all those we encounter based on their qualities not their looks would be the answer to that question.
PS SueSquatch I can't help it, we need to move along-not get stuck in the past. I don't believe anyone is helped by dwelling on things that cannot be changed. It is completely non-productive.
It saddens me that there are so many people living in such ignorance. You want to know what the treatment of African Americans in the past has to do with today. You call it "dwelling on things". As an African American woman, try walking in my shoes and learn how it affects me daily and see if its easy to forget the past, when you are reminded of it everyday.
I work as a travel and agency nurse and frequently work in new environments. I am constantly assumed to be the CNA upon arrival, by the staff mostly as well as patients/families at times. No one bothers to notice the RN on my badge. There are times where I have introduced myself as the new travel nurse or ageny RN, yet still certain people of the caucasian persuasion do not hear my words, because they already know in their mind who I am.
I have dealt with racist families. Some who will outright ask for a white nurse, as well as those that will speak with a condescending attitude, attempt to question if I am doing things correctly and make complaints over minor things (starting an NGT feed at 1150, instead of 1200 or giving a 1800 med at 1820), just because they have a problem with my color.
Taking it out of the hospital, to everyday occurences. Such as how when African Americans go missing, its not a big deal, not national news, often times won't make the local news. But when its a white individual, the story is all over CNN, The Today Show and everywhere else. Has anyone ever noticed when a crime is reported on the local news and the suspect is at large. When the suspect is black, that is always emphasized, looking for a black male, 6 foot, 200 lbs. However if its a white male, race isnt mentioned? Then they are just looking for a 6 foot, 200 lb male, wearing a red hat. Has anyone noticed when there is a crime commited by a black person against a white person, the press eats it up? However the same crime commited against people of the same race gets no coverage. Prime example, the story of that pregnant white woman, whose black police officer husband was arrested for the crime. The story had an incredible amount of coverage.
About 2 months ago, I was standing outside of a restaurant in the parking lot with 2 of my friends talking. A truck of 3 white men drove by, rolled their window down and yelled "die ni**ers die" and kept on driving.
I can tell you about how last year, I was pulled over for a DWB(driving while black). The officer claims that he thought my registration was expired. Although it clearly states on the back license plate, it expires 04/08. I was questioned about whose car I was driving immediately.He then went on to ask what I do for a living, and where I get enough money to afford my car (of course a black female cant possibly own a mercedes). After spending and eternity, running my license and registration after having absolutely no reason for pulling me over, he had to let me go.
Im an avid spades player, I play spades on yahoo games frequently. I use the black female icon to represent me while I play. I cannot tell you the number of times I have been called the N word, whore, welfare queen, drug addict, or accused of having multiple children by many men. Usually this is set off by just winning a game. I could go on and on, but Im sure its pointless, as you will never make the connection to African Americans being enslaved and the negative/racist way that my people continue to be perceived and treated. Im sure we should just get over it since it was SOO many years ago and what we go through today is minor.
Im never surprised when these white celebrities get caught using racial slurs, i.e. Michael Richardson, Paris Hilton, Dog the Bounty Hunter. Just reading the statement made by this poster and the users that thank her for her comments, its quite obvious the attitudes you have. Either you walk around with your head in the clouds and dont notice the prejudice and racism that exists in this country or I suspect that you yourself are a thinly veiled racist, just too cowardly to admit it. Open your eyes,get your head out of your @ss and realize that African Americans go through alot of nonsense at the hands of white people in this country, whether or not you encounter it in your everyday life, doesnt negate what IS happening.
You call it "dwelling on things". As an African American woman, try walking in my shoes and learn how it affects me daily and see if its easy to forget the past, when you are reminded of it everyday.
I can never be black, anymore than you can be a caucasian. What I can say is that some people's perceptions and opinions will never change, others will change by exposure to you and your fellows. I just believe personal happiness and a successful life cannot depend on others opinions, thoughts, and or, history.
Ignorance doesn't recognize color, age, sex, nationality, or religion. It exists...When will people stop using derogatory terms, directing hate at others, or building themselves up by knocking others down? When the final trumpet blows....that is the nature of man. Paradise will exist when we see nothing but a person's integrity and innerself, judgement will belong to God.
Until that time, we are all stuck with each other's imperfections and skewed views of the universe. All we can do is our best.
Hi, sorry to read about your experience. I am currently a nursing student who will be graduating in December 2007. I attend a college at upstate NY, in other words, the country so I can relate to how you feel. I used to work as a graduate practical nurse in a nursing home before i passed my LPN board exam and quit my job. I was the only black nurse there and i hated the way i was treated by both the patients and the staff there. The CNAs there didn't even respect me because i was black and frankly one day i just couldn't take it anymore and i quit. I have been so happy since then. I knew that my colleagues weren't happy that i was attending nursing school and did they best to frustrate me when i tried studying in a quiet corner during my breaks and co but that's all in the past.
thank god (any god), that we live in a country that we can actually discuss this without being thrown in jail or worse. at least if a nurse would help a child name a teddy bear, they wouldn't be threatened with lashings, jail or beheading. so if your having problems at least in this country you can discuss it , find a way to sort it all out without fear of bodily harm or death. there are many places in this world even the idea of posting such a subject would be dangerous let alone continuing a conversation about it. i feel bad that you are going through this, it's not right, but keep in mind we are at war now. if we were at war with blond hair - blue eyed women. there would be people around that would give all blue eyed, blond haired women a hard time. so, just hang in there. i hope things get better for you soon. by- the -way, there was a nurse who had her teeth removed because of damage to her gums from chemo. she came back to work before she could get new teeth, she was mistaken for house keeping on a daily basis.so, who are the ones that are truly descrimingating. is it us for thinking that housekeeping staff are below us some how. what if we felt proud of our house keeping staff. what if we could say, no,,,,i'm just a nurse i get paid well and can call in , i make enough money to buy groceries and have a car, my job is hard but i can do it because i had the advantage of obtaing a college education. house keepers are people that show up to work on a daily basis, have one of the worst jobs in the hospital and don't get paid dittely- squat, they are generaly treated rudely by their managers. why do we consider it bad to be mistaken for housekeeping. should we consider our self discriminatory for thinking we are better than they ? just food for thought.
What hospital give African American preferencial treatment? There is no such thing. Are you a comedian, because you are silly with you words.:
Boston is one of the worst places for nurses of color to find a good job. Yes it pays well but it is given to the majority firsthand.
refresh me.....where did i state where aa's get preferential tx?
i know bmc's pts are all different ethnicities, w/very few caucasian.
and no, i do not live or work in the medical district, where the majority of caucasians would congregrate.
but overall, as a city (and not just proper boston), it is a highly diverse city that embraces all cultures.
somewhere in this thread, i provided a link, that shares residents perspectives on living and working in boston.
so for most, it is indeed, one of the more progressive cities.
i stand by that.
leslie
First off, I would like to say,hello how are you doing?
I am doing very well.
I just happen to work at BMC, and I am a woman of color, a very proud one at that. Yes Bmc have a diverse patient population, with caucasian as patients, being in the minority,. Why is that? Where is BMC located?
It is located in an area of the city that houses more people of color, meaning all minorities than caucasians. But were we talking about the patients or people in general?You have gotten me all confused.
Do not get me wrong, Boston is a wonderful city I would not want to live anywhere else, I live in the heart of the city. It is a very diverse city but there is still preferencial treatment, plus racism that is very much rampant in Boston, it is just hidden.
If you want me to name the cities I shall.
but this is not mainly the reason I responded to your comment.
Boston is a great place to live I my self have not been a victim of racism as a women of color, so I am proud to say that. But yes I have witness others who have. It is not a pretty site
There are certain hospitals that women of color are not the first choice for jobs even with all the qualifications, it is given to someone of the majority simple because they are a majority.
), should not accept it.
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SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN
10,263 Posts
Dee, with all due respect, you are taking one incident and extrapolating that to all scholarships for persons of color - and there are none, aside from those for NAI's, that require one to prove ethnicity.
Your friend is, frankly, a thief. It's not the system that's broken but her moral compass.