Life as a minority in nursing

RNJHUPHL · Aug 2, 2012

Wow. I agree with you 100% kjlewis76. Its amazing to see how many people are writing about whether they are or are not privileged. Who gets what scholarships? Affirmative Action? The number 1 benefactors of affirmative action is Caucasian females. Who works harder than whom? Please, stop its ridiculous. The United States of America has a negative history of race relations, PERIOD. We don't need to air it out in the blogs or here. Those who are hit hardest in economic downturns (that means currently a recession) are minorities. Why? Because they are the least likely to be hired for a number of reasons.

Many choose not to believe that race has anything to do with life and day to day activities. How do you know if it doesn't affect you? Have you gone day to day with paranoia because when you enter a store someone is constantly watching you because they assume that since you are of a certain color you will rob the store? How much stress is that? Have you ever been in a situation where it has been automatically assumed that you must be the dumbest one in the group due to your race although you have not said anything but in fact you are top of your class? How frustrating is that?

Have you ever gone to a professor and tried to dispute a grade but was told "you should be happy at the level you have come considering where people like you are right now so get over it and accept the grade."

So many minorities get treated just like that everyday but they persevere. It is stressful that's why life expectancy is so low. It is frustrating but you can't let the negativity bring you down. Race, culture, ethnicity whatever you call it is always an issue because the differences are stilling being passed down. It doesn't help to be blind in thinking it doesn't exist.

People be happy because you are alive and get to see another day. Peace

Bobmo88 · Aug 2, 2012

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.

i realize this thread started last year but i agree with those who say that socioeconomic status is more significant than ethnicity. my father was born in mexico but was raised here in the us. he grew up poor because my grandmother worked in a packing house and not too long after getting married, her husband was killed in a munitions factory accident (he was in the service), leaving her to raise my father and uncle by herself. they both managed to go to college and become teachers. on my mom's side, i am a 4th generation mexican-american. my grandfather was in the service and he became an electrician and my grandmother worked as a secretary for a school district for many years. she was able to attend college and became a social worker. i have been fortunate to not have to go through the struggles that they did. i could imagine how tough it must be for kids who come from humble backgrounds to succeed in school not only due to language barriers but also their parents' level of education and income, regardless of ethnicity. my parents were almost always able to help me with my homework (except for things like calculus when i was in high school), they read to me when i was younger and they put me in pre-school. i bet a lot of kids never had these opportunities. the other thing i wanted to give my two cents on is minorities having an advantage as far as speaking other languages; not all of us grow up speaking the language. i grew up speaking english, even though my dad was born in mexico. i had to learn spanish like every other non native speaker, by taking classes in school. i ended up taking 4 years of spanish in high school, two classes at the community college level and then i majored in spanish at the university while on a wait list for an adn program. my spanish has definitely been an advantage for me in my job as an er tech because the majority of our patients do speak spanish and i think it was a major factor for me getting accepted into a the bsn program i will be starting in less than a month, however, other than knowing a few words in spanish here and there, i basically started off at the same level as others. even though i am a "minority" (although i do not feel like one here in southern california), i think it is safe to say that have had an equal chance at going to college as a non-minority due to my socioeconomic status.

ames86 · Aug 2, 2012

I don't think it has anything to do with race more with what you were born into. I was born to a 16 year old mom so I don't know what a lot of money is. Both my parents had to drop out of high school to raise me. Needless to say we never had a lot of money. Then they divorced when I was 3 so then I was raised by a single mom with no education. Growing up I knew that college was just not a option for me because there was no money. I didn't realize how much grades mattered until it was too late in high school. I am in college now and even though I have a 4.0 GPA there are no scholarships for me. I have a family of my own now and I only make a little over min wage but that doesn't seem to matter. I guess I should add that am white.