Minority SRNA/CRNA's

Published

:) Hello I have been a lurker here for quite some time and finally decided to post. I have learned soo much from reading these threads. Allnurses is a great resource! I have been an RN for three years and most of my experience is ER. I have just transferred to SICU/MICU and am considering CRNA school. I have worked at a couple of different hospitals and I have never met an African American CRNA- I live in the Southeast. I am wondering is this the norm nationwide?

You know I am experiencing similiar treatment right now! My OB instructor is Caucasian & from the South. She gives the white girls less complicated patients and expects even less of them and gave the B+(s) @ mid term. I got a C @ midterm and my careplans are well thought out, I provide good patient care and I am always going the extra mile to show my competency as a nurse. She said I am unorganized and do not prioritize my care. She also treats a Chinese girl in my clinical group the same way. Although I am usually an A or B student, I will have to take a C from this woman, pass the class and then go on about my business. What do you guys think?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER/ICU/PACU/ Nurse Anesthetist.

I would call her out on it. Document what is happening and go over her head if you have to.

You know I am experiencing similiar treatment right now! My OB instructor is Caucasian & from the South. She gives the white girls less complicated patients and expects even less of them and gave the B+(s) @ mid term. I got a C @ midterm and my careplans are well thought out, I provide good patient care and I am always going the extra mile to show my competency as a nurse. She said I am unorganized and do not prioritize my care. She also treats a Chinese girl in my clinical group the same way. Although I am usually an A or B student, I will have to take a C from this woman, pass the class and then go on about my business. What do you guys think?
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I find this thread very interesting because these are some of the same questions I have pondered. I was fortunate enough to meet 2 African American female CRNA's. Since, this meeting they have always been a great source of encouragement to me and my goals of becoming a CRNA. As a African American woman I know that we have to strive and work harder to enter the field. But, never give up and my best advice is to try network with these CRNA's they are always willing to help other minorities who have drive and determination. I know that hard work, determination and drive is what got me accepted into an Anesthesia program for 2006.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Excellent. Congrats to you!.:balloons:

What school?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks! I just might have to do this ASAP!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

What's going on everybody? I'm an African-American Man and currently a RRNA at Texas Wesleyan University ( Class of 2007 ). My mentor (who is also an african-american male) is a graduate of this program and really sold me on being a CRNA. I couldn't be happier. God has blessed me with 6 classmates (who are all african-american) which I study with. Roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of our class is minorities of every kind.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In the past three years of both seeing the existing classes and just recently seeing the potential interviewers for next year, there are only two minorities that I can remember. One girl never came back from Christmas break. That was the class ahead of me that just graduated. There is one minoritiy classmate currently in my group. He is doing quite well and looks to graduate in 8 months.

As for the whys, you are asking the wrong person. The interview numbers for African Amercians SRNAs are almost nonexistent and so are the enrollment numbers.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The Director of Wayne State University's program in Michigan is minority.( Prudentia Worth, PhD) I spoke with her personally in regards to this huge disparity and she agrees as well. She actually wrote an article about this issue in the AANA journal.

The numbers are critically low.....WHY? Are minorities just not applying because of lack of knowledge about the field or are they applying and not getting accepted? I can admit that I did not know about this field until about 6 years ago. Never even touched on it in school. If we did, it was very little. I can also say that while attending undergrad ( an HBCU)....I've never seen a CRNA attend any career fairs that was held on campus. However, my sister attended a public non HBCU and states she recalls meeting several CRNA's at careers fairs.

I personally would love to dig a little deeper to figure out why the numbers are so low. The fact remains that diversity makes for a more culturally competent and culturally sensitive quality of care.

I went to an HBCU and noticed the same thing.

In my humble opinion, there are reasons why there isn't a large population of CRNA that are minorities. I will speak from an african-american perspective (since I am one). First, we are only a small percentage of nursing in general. And second, we don't have alot of african-american nurses who are ICU nurses (mostly med-surg,L&D, or peds). This was the case a decade ago (hence not seeing them now). You will start to see more of us going into anesthesia school. TO ALL APPLICANTS. Be open minded as far as schools. Just because one school doesn't take you another will. Its your job to find out which one.

I also went to an HBCU and saw the same thing. My p

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Reality is what reality is. I live and work in in New York City. The majority of nurses in New York City is people of color (some of the smartest people). I have work in New York Cornell to hospitals in Brooklyn. The two school in New York City have a small percent of AA and other people of color. Columbia University 2 out of 30 student. Many people of color applied, I know this for a fact. Downstate Medical Center this year 4 student. These are school that serve the community that is 99% people of color. The schools in CT only have admitted 1 to 2 people of color every 2-3 years are so. New Jersey first class 1 student of color, this year due to a lot of noise, they admitted 3 people of color ( one with a gpa of 4.0) When you have workhard to achieve a goal it is heartbroken to know that color matter. When I take care of my patients, I do not see color or I would not have choosen nursing as my career. I believe in fairness for all and hope that more people of color will continue to gain acceptance. Over the years I have informed high school student about the field of nurse anesthesia, hoping to informed them of this wondereful field. As written before I am not taking anything away from other qualify student who have gain admission. Sometimes I wonder why do they do interviews? It is to see what the applicant look like? Hate to sound like an angry minority. But good luck to all that are applying, minority or majority.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Reality is what reality is. I live and work in in New York City. The majority of nurses in New York City is people of color (some of the smartest people). I have work in New York Cornell to hospitals in Brooklyn. The two school in New York City have a small percent of AA and other people of color. Columbia University 2 out of 30 student. Many people of color applied, I know this for a fact. Downstate Medical Center this year 4 student. These are school that serve the community that is 99% people of color. The schools in CT only have admitted 1 to 2 people of color every 2-3 years are so. New Jersey first class 1 student of color, this year due to a lot of noise, they admitted 3 people of color ( one with a gpa of 4.0) When you have workhard to achieve a goal it is heartbroken to know that color matter. When I take care of my patients, I do not see color or I would not have choosen nursing as my career. I believe in fairness for all and hope that more people of color will continue to gain acceptance. Over the years I have informed high school student about the field of nurse anesthesia, hoping to informed them of this wondereful field. As written before I am not taking anything away from other qualify student who have gain admission. Sometimes I wonder why do they do interviews? It is to see what the applicant look like? Hate to sound like an angry minority. But good luck to all that are applying, minority or majority.

It is a shame when that happens. But I will speak from my own program ( Texas Wesleyan University) in that they don't see color. I believe only 11 AAs applied and there are 9 in our class. As long as you have the grades, experience, and crush the interview, your good here. That's why you can't just look to go to school in your own state if you can help it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

At TWU this is a non-issue. Fact is there are very very low numbers of blacks and other (races other than white) in the ICU. That is a fact. CRNA schools require ICU experience.

For me personally, topics like this wear me out. I have a 1/2 black 1/2 white cousin that is a CRNA. I look up to him, and he has been my mentor as I prepared to get in to school. I never think of his racial make-up until posts like this pop up. His dad is my uncle, and always has been. Just so happens he's black.............. SO WHAT?

I am glad that so many posts about TWU that are on here show that Texas is not some racist land as portrayed by the Northeast & hollywood.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Discrimination topics will always be tinged with politics. Great strides have been made in "leveling" the playing field, but to require perfection, it's unrealistic.

I am a white non-Anglo: I have difficulty making close friendships with almost everybody: whites, b/c I didn't grow up here, blacks b/c I'm not black, etc.

Yet everybody is nice and professional. I work in an 30 bed SICU in a level I trauma center that has an anesthesia school. None of my coworkers are black. Only two Hispanics. My boss goes to about 10 schools to recruit minority nurses, but nobody shows up.

The anesthesia class has 2 blacks and one Middle Eastern, out of of 12 students. That's a pretty good percentage, given the pool of candidates.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion