Life as a minority in nursing

[cookie91]

hi everyone this has been in my head for quite some time. I attend a college where 95% of the students are recognized as minorities. I am a hispanic female and i feel that there are not allot of us who attend college after high school. There are the ones that strive hard to accomplish there goals, but i feel they have to work extra hard. Do you feel the same way? Do you think that it is harder for a minority to make it in the industry. Especially in health care, I feel that diversity is important because we represent our race, our strong work of ethics. What do you think? Correct me if I am wrong but how important should diversity be in heath care. Despite the strong belief in the value of a college diploma; I feel minorities more often than not fall short to reach that goal. Feel free to express your thoughts and opinions.

[Ackeem, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Well personally I believe that an high achiever can come out of any class, race, social ethnic, etc and be anything they want to be in life whether they grew up poor or not.

Just because the parents are illiterate, the child will automatically become illiterate as a result , despite the disadvantage's, that child could grow to be ambitious and have a strong personality to go with his ambitiousness, enabling him to set a goal or goals and ultimately achieving it whether it be later or early in life.

I do agree that the minorities does have disadvantages regarding education, tuition, and etc but sitting and crying about it won't solve anything either. Yes scholarships are hard to get, but are you going to sit around thinking that the only way you can get to college is through a scholarship because my parents can't afford the tuition so I'm going to just throw my life away,

Why not work your ass off for 10 years none stop, save and budget your money, If that's what it takes to get a good education. Well unfortunately most people in those situation don't think that way ,most end up having 10 kids before they even reach 20, the men end up getting thrown in jail for selling drugs or arm robbery. Ultimately the cycle starts over again with those same kids making the same mistakes, that their parents made. so those set of people always remain poverty stricken.

(Sorry of I drift off topic)

[metal_m0nk, BSN, RN]

I wasn't able to open up the files, but I want to point out that 65% of the population of the US is white/not hispanic, so the employment figures you presented are proportional to the overall population.

Try this link:

http://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/employment/jobpat-eeo1/2009/index.cfm

It is not so cut and dried. The workforce is a subset of the greater population that does not necessarily mirror the greater population. When you consider things like average retirement age, workforce entrance age, tenure/job retention, (to name a few), the portrait of the working population shows very different characteristics than greater population.

[Saysfaa]

nursel56,

http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/papers/fryerlevitt2004.pdf

"...there are studies that try to examine name rarity more directly, and they suggest that rare names, and rare spellings, get lower ratings from judges (mehrabian & piercy, 1993), and, when such names are randomly assigned to student essays, they get lower grades than more common names (harari & mcdavid, 1973). however, taking advantage of graduation programmes that list both the name of each student and the honours that student has earned, or at least received, one can readily examine whether those with common names are actually overrepresented in the ranks of the exalted. they are not (skinner, 1984). ...

skinner, n.f. (1984). unusual given names and university grades: a rose by any other name does smell as sweet. psychological reports, 54, 546..."

http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeid=21&editionid=158&articleid=1319

[foxybrown78]

Although I respect your opinion, I happen to believe that it has plenty to do with race. Sorry, but we don't encounter many Caucasian people who are named Tameka, LaToya, Jaquala, Jamal, or Malik. Hiring managers look at the name on the resume, make presumptions about the person before meeting them, and decide to not call back for an interview.

Dropping in real quick. I am black and every DaJuana I have ever met has been as well. Turns out the VP of my department has that name and is white as white can be. Blew my mind! How is that for stereotyping?

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

"There are the ones that strive hard to accomplish there goals, but i feel they have to work extra hard. Do you feel the same way?"

No.

I see minorities actively and aggressively recruited and favored in admissions and hiring.

The vast majority of scholarships are either limited to minorities or specifically favor minorities, so many that most of them go unclaimed. Many of the employment and academic support programs are also either limited to minorities or specifically favor them.

As for crappy high schools... yes, students from crappy high schools need to work harder after high school than grads from good high schools do after high school if they take the same classes. I think they are more likely to start with lower level classes and work about as hard. Either way, they didn't have to work nearly as hard while in jr high and high school.

Minorities may be aggressively recruited in admissions, but we are at a strong disadvantage in the work force, so it balances things out (and no, we are NOT actively recruited in the hiring process contrary to what you may believe).

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I think minorities have an advantage if anything. If an employer has to make a decision between a white and a minority candidate for a position the minority wins everytime. Special scholarships for minorities are a huge plus also. Your only a victim if you choose to be and this truly the land of opportunity. Good luck to you!

Apparently you have never worked or have stepped foot in corporate America to make such an ignorant statement. If anything, minorities are at a DISADVANTAGED in the hiring process. We have to work twice as hard to get half of what the next person gets in terms of job opportunities and recognition.

My mom worked in corporateA for over twenty years, and the treatment of minorities and openly gays was horrendous. She doesn't miss her job one bit, and I don't blame her. Between her and her network of friends, she could write a book longer than all of J.R.R Tolkein's books combined to tell all the stories of how minorities were passed up for promotions and bonuses, how their WASP male bosses took credit for THEIR hard work, and just how much harder they had to work to gain any respect from their white colleagues. All the black workers had degrees and even Master's while there were quite a few whites who didn't even have an associates.

And btw, it is "you're". Land of opportunity my ass.

[LovebugLPN]

I am a minority and I am going to tell you now that I am tired of the weak people, who represent my culture, crying about how unfair life is. I was educated in the Newark, NJ school system and did not allow my color to hold me back. People need to stop using their color as an excuse for failing. Suck it up and move on.

[Trilldayz,RN BSN]

I am a minority and I am going to tell you now that I am tired of the weak people, who represent my culture, crying about how unfair life is. I was educated in the Newark, NJ school system and did not allow my color to hold me back. People need to stop using their color as an excuse for failing. Suck it up and move on.

Exactly! Your skin color (or 'different' name) is already going to be a hinderance (whether people want to believe it or not). Just don't allow that hinderance to become a handicap. My name is a truly ethnic name (and I'm African) and I believe that with hard work, (a little luck) and blessings you can achieve in this country. Example: Too many immigrants who come to the states with very little and work hard (living in the ghetto). 10 to 20 years down the road, they are home owners, nice cars, good jobs AND still send off their kids to college (without taking out any loans and get scholarships). They achieve so much (with language & cultural barriers) and tend to exceed those who have lived here all their lives, while NEVER complaining and giving excuses as to why they just can't make it in society. I'm telling you... If you TRULY want to succeed in this country you can! It might not be as easy, but its always possible.

[letarn2b]

I understand what you mean. In my school their are only two black people in the nursing program and i am one of them. Sometimes i feel like the odd ball out but I have recognized if you really want to do something do it forget what the nay sayers say. In life people are going to be for you or against you.

[Trilldayz,RN BSN]

I feel you girl. I'm one of 2 blacks in my class as well (but my school and town is like 98% hispanic). Its tough but oh well, I came on a mission. I didn't come to make friends, be popular, or whatever. I came for a BSN. Failure just isn't an option.

[lsk40]

Well I was raised this way I am female and I am a minority so you better not give anyone a reason not to choose you I was told I must have the highest gpa and the best resume so that there is no reason for someone not to choose me also where a these minority scholarships because I have yet to get one I don't know why people think they are handing them out like candy because I have not seen one

[CrunchyMama, ASN, RN]

I wish we live in a time that didn't refer to a specific race of humans as minorities! I'm WHITE and I hate that my fellow humans (black, brown, purple) are called anything but human. It's unfortunate that we're a far way from just calling people, people....but the more these terms are used, the longer people will be using them. There's 5 billion of us, who cares if there's less colors then others!! We're all human no matter what and we're all on this earth for the same purpose, so people need to stop segregating! With this said....don't let anyone stop you!! You can do anything you put your mind to, doesn't matter what color you are!