African-American male Nurse Practitioners

Specialties NP

Published

I am casting a large net to find someone like myself. I am an African American male just starting my first semester in a Master's Family Nurse practitioner program. As I look around the classroom , I'm unable to find anyone that looks like me. Is there anyone out there that fits this description ?--nationally or internationally ? I would like some information or wisdom concerning pros,cons; advantages,pitfalls of my new endeavor.

Specializes in Educator, OB, Critical Care.

Does it really matter what color or gender you are? All nurses are wonderful and courageous people. I too am in a FNP program. You should be done by now? How is it going?

Ugh I hate when people discriminate. Who CARES what color skin they have or what gender they are? They all went through all the same steps to there just like everyone else does. (I don't mean that directed towards the OP, though I doubt he will even read this since it is like 7 years old, but I mean that directed towards those who discriminate against others.) It hate when people think that just because someone is a male or because someone is from a certain race, that they aren't capable of doing something. If you get accepted to nursing school, you obviously got good grades just like everyone else did! Who cares what gender/race/religion or whatever, if I happen to be a patient at a hospital, I don't care who my nurse is as long as they are capable of the job :) I respect all nurses who can do that.

Ugh I hate when people discriminate. Who CARES what color skin they have or what gender they are? They all went through all the same steps to there just like everyone else does. (I don't mean that directed towards the OP, though I doubt he will even read this since it is like 7 years old, but I mean that directed towards those who discriminate against others.) It hate when people think that just because someone is a male or because someone is from a certain race, that they aren't capable of doing something. If you get accepted to nursing school, you obviously got good grades just like everyone else did! Who cares what gender/race/religion or whatever, if I happen to be a patient at a hospital, I don't care who my nurse is as long as they are capable of the job :) I respect all nurses who can do that.

Slou and dfurbee,

You are so correct, and as it was once said, "can't we all just get along".

I am very proud that I am a nurse (former LPN turned RN) and for anyone that doesn't like to see male nurses, then get over it we are here to stay.

God Bless My Fellow Nurses,

jek2839, RN:typing

While I am not African American, I am a male in the nursing world. It seems as if male nursing professionals are becoming more accepted, but there still aren't many of us. I'm one of three male students in my class of 70. I welcome the diversification of the nursing profession in all directions. I think all of us has something unique to bring to the table.

EdBSN09,

AMEN

jek2839, RN :typing

Ugh I hate when people discriminate. Who CARES what color skin they have or what gender they are? They all went through all the same steps to there just like everyone else does. (I don't mean that directed towards the OP, though I doubt he will even read this since it is like 7 years old, but I mean that directed towards those who discriminate against others.) It hate when people think that just because someone is a male or because someone is from a certain race, that they aren't capable of doing something. If you get accepted to nursing school, you obviously got good grades just like everyone else did! Who cares what gender/race/religion or whatever, if I happen to be a patient at a hospital, I don't care who my nurse is as long as they are capable of the job :) I respect all nurses who can do that.

Sometimes I feel like I can relate more to someone who has a similar background. It's encouraging to hear from a person that has made it to a place where you want to be. It's like: If he can do it, surely I can. When my sister first got her menstrual cycle, I dont think she went to our dad for help.

Specializes in Critical Care.
As a minority we experience many unnecessary, unexplainable things that our equal counterparts never even have to deal with, like be confused with all of the healthcare team auxillary members (CNA,house keeping,PT,RT,patient escort, lab tech, pharm tech, etc...) while having a badge that Ray Charles could see identifying us as an RN!!!!! When you pretend to yourself that it doesn't happen, it is because you have probably been guilty of it yourself. Have you noticed how receptive people are to a young (majority) male in scrubs/lab coat versus a minority male in scrubs/lab coat?????? The minority could actually be the MD and majority the scrub tech, but guess who gets the MD RESPECT?

Older thread I came across but wanted to comment on this:

First, some demographics: in the U.S. as of 2000, nursing is comprised of:

http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/changingdemo/composition.htm#3.3.2

White Females: 82%

non-Hispanic African American Female: 4.9%

Asian Female: 3.5%

Hispanic Female: 2%

Native American Female: 0.7%

Mixed/Other race Female: 1.2%

White Males: 4.7%

All other Males: 1.0%

3 points:

1. The key statistic here is that only ONE PERCENT of nurses are non-white males. If I mistake a minority male as being somebody OTHER than a nurse, sure, there might be some built-in cultural bias there, but it's just as likely that it's because of the rarity of such nurses in the first place.

Now, you might argue that the rarity is the real problem and I would agree. A profession that under-represents minorities by a factor of 3 and males by a factor of 9 needs to ask itself one potent question: why?

2. I think the OP has had a difficult time over the years finding fellow minority male NPs because those nurses would be a fraction of the ONE PERCENT total number of non-white male nurses. A small pool to swim in, to be sure.

3. As demographics change, nursing is simply going to be forced to address this issue of an astounding lack of diversity in its ranks. As our nation drops below 50% "white" in the next decade or two, it will simply become unfeasible for 86.6% of RNs (male and female combined) to be white. Think real hard about that last statistic: something is amiss in how we recruit nurses. Something's broken and needs to be fixed.

~faith,

Timothy.

IMO, the best thing minority (including all male) nurses can do to support awareness is to wear the high-visibility RN or LPN patch available from: http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/

Racism exists from all people on all sides. I can't tell you the number of times I have been called "white-boy," or "cracker" by some guys thinking they are "the hood." Thats what happens when a white male lives in a predominantly black environment - OPEN hostility. I don't use that as an excuse to go around hating or bashing black people. As far as I am concerned, those dudes were jerk-offs, just like the mean (white) cop who lives down the street and is crazy and yells at everybody.

I am really ashamed that anyone is even thinking of race. Why does it matter? Who cares!

Specializes in mostly med-surge.

Hello,

I'm also going thru some of the same issues that you are facing in my current nursing class. Of a class of 40 I'm the only black male although there is one other female in my class. She is the third african american female to graduate from my school that prides itself on its nursing program. Since the schools first class in the early late 70's there has been 5 minorities graduate and I will be the first african american male to have graduated and also to have ever been excepted into the program. I am scheduled to graduate in May and wonder if the same trend is going to follow me thru my career. I would like to further my eduation and go on to the masters program but the last five years have been hard on my wallet so I think I'll work a few years to pay off some of the 40 thousand dollars I've borrowed throughout the program. If you have some advice for me going into the hospital please share.

Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

I think this is a very interesting thread.

I also think that we, as a society, tend to associate careers with certain types of people, including race/gender/etc. There are a few brave souls that break those stereotypes and inspire others to follow.

For example, Tiger Woods comes to mind. Eminem. Nancy Pelosi.

There are also professions that typically attract more females than males. Nursing is one, along with teaching, etc. Of course, AA males represent a smaller number in the general population and that will be reflected in the numbers enrolled in nursing programs.

I think the best way to increase interest in nursing among AA males, and all males in general, is for men to become very active in recruiting and placing the possibility of nursing as an option. Otherwise, men are very likely to continue to think inside the box and move towards careers that are stereotyped for them...sports, medicine, law, computers, etc.

i utopia it doesn't matter a person's race or gender but in the real world it does.

does it really matter what color or gender you are? all nurses are wonderful and courageous people. i too am in a fnp program. you should be done by now? how is it going?

It's funny that this post started back in 1999 and is still being added to. I don't think that it's racist for a Black male nurse/nursing student to look around and want to see himself in the nursing profession. I actually think that it's unfair for others not to try to understand that any thing that makes you different from the group-at-large IS IMPORTANT--race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. We are taught very early to discern differences (remember the Sesame Street lyrics, "One of these things is not like the other).

As an African-American RN student (graduating Dec '08) I am curious to know what the experience has been of others like myself, in both the school and professional settings. I don't think it's enough to SAY how ignorant discrimination and prejudice is when many of us still FEEL its effects. Something to think about...

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