An astounding lack of diversity in nursing

[ZASHAGALKA]

https://allnurses.com/forums/f34/african-american-male-nurse-practitioners-4734.html

I pasted my comment from another thread (above) into its own thread because I'm interested in why y'all think there is such a lack of diversity in nursing and what you think the solutions should be.

This is a touchy subject, I know, so I only ask that you keep your comments respectful and constructive:

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, RNs are comprised of:

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

White Female: 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 Male: 4.7%

All other Male: 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 to continue to recruit 86.6% of RNs (male and female combined) from the shrinking pool of whites in this nation. Think real hard about that last statistic: something is amiss in how we recruit nurses. Something's broken and needs to be fixed.

(disclaimer: it's not my intent to be biased against LVN/LPNs, however, I got my stats from government links that only tabulated RNs.)

~faith,

Timothy.

[sayitgirl]

There is not a group on this planet that goes through the racial discrimination that African Americans go through. I have worked on hospital units also that African Americans and Whites are the minority also. And are treated poorly, but there is always one step further that is taken with the African American nurse. I will give you one example. I worked at a magnet hospital when I finished school in 2004, the unit was predominantly one culture, with a few white and one black nurse from the Carribbeans who was my preceptor. The floor had a reputation for always harassing the African American nurses to the point that they resigned, were terminanted or transfered to another floor. During the short time that I was on that floor I lost my only son to a illness, but it did not stop the group which included the manager, from harassing me to the point that I resigned. Within the time period two other African American nurses (which were new nurses precepting) were also harassed; one transferred and the other resigned. The preceptor because she was supportive of me was harrassed to the point that she transferred to another floor. She had worked on that floor for 15 years, to make matters worse she had precepted most of the nurses that were remaining on the floor that were part of the mob. It should not be about race, but the unfortunante reality in America; it is about race. For now anyway. Hopefully one day that will change. With the increasing diveristy in America it is just a matter of time.

[pickledpepperRN]

There is not a group on this planet that goes through the racial discrimination that African Americans go through. I have worked on hospital units also that African Americans and Whites are the minority also. And are treated poorly, but there is always one step further that is taken with the African American nurse. I will give you one example. I worked at a magnet hospital when I finished school in 2004, the unit was predominantly one culture, with a few white and one black nurse from the Carribbeans who was my preceptor. The floor had a reputation for always harassing the African American nurses to the point that they resigned, were terminanted or transfered to another floor. During the short time that I was on that floor I lost my only son to a illness, but it did not stop the group which included the manager, from harassing me to the point that I resigned. Within the time period two other African American nurses (which were new nurses precepting) were also harassed; one transferred and the other resigned. The preceptor because she was supportive of me was harrassed to the point that she transferred to another floor. She had worked on that floor for 15 years, to make matters worse she had precepted most of the nurses that were remaining on the floor that were part of the mob. It should not be about race, but the unfortunante reality in America; it is about race. For now anyway. Hopefully one day that will change. With the increasing diveristy in America it is just a matter of time.

It hurts me to read this. I am so very sorry that nurses would do this.

I have experienced plenty of racism but not by nurses.

How can we treat our patients well if we aren't compassionate with each other?

To understand why women are the majority in nursing I suggest reading "A SHORT HISTORY OF NURSING; From the Earliest Times to the Present Day"

Position paper on why it is important to know our history: http://www.aahn.org/position.html

Many libraries have it. You can buy it still:

http://www.amazon.com/short-history-nursing-earliest-present/dp/B00085KCW8/ref=sr_1_1/105-0234754-6683619?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1172855722&sr=8-1

http://www.bagbooks.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=11987&CLSN_1696=11694323171696ffa4979f9fb68ca6b4

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I have experienced plenty of racism but not by nurses.

My first nursing position was at a small nursing home in Bedford, Texas. This occurred in February and March 2006.

My coworkers were openly-racist white female nurses. They would regularly make off-hand comments such as, "All of our black employees need criminal background checks" and "The Hurricane Katrina evacuees were all scum."

You are fortunate to have not experienced racism from fellow nurses. Consider yourself lucky.

[BULLYDAWGRN, RN]

I Personally Think This Lack Of Diversity Stuff In Proffesional Fields Is A Bunch Of Bunk... You Are What You Are, You Can Be What You Want To Be.. If You Want To Study And Spend The Time And Effort And Have Appropriate Qaulifications (ie. Grades,exp,act/sat Scores) You Can Get Into A Nursing Program, Hey I Did'nt Get Into The 1st Or 2nd Rn Program I Wanted,you Know What I Sucked It Up Re-took Some Classes Improved Some Grades And Got Into A Program, Graduated With A High Gpa And Class Vp...and Then Did'nt Get Hired At 1st Or 2nd Units That I Wanted.. Worked A Few Months Got Some Experience And Now I'm In Those Units.. If You Got What It Take On Paper And Inside You You'll Get In.

[pickledpepperRN]

My first nursing position was at a small nursing home in Bedford, Texas. This occurred in February and March 2006.

My coworkers were openly-racist white female nurses. They would regularly make off-hand comments such as, "All of our black employees need criminal background checks" and "The Hurricane Katrina evacuees were all scum."

You are fortunate to have not experienced racism from fellow nurses. Consider yourself lucky.

I know I've been very fortunate.

I wonder how people with such an ignorant attitude get through nursing school.

I attended school in Los Angeles. The worst and most frightening racism I experienced was in Texas. Iw was criminal if attempted assault and threatening rape is a crime there.

I was really hoping that Americans your age would not have to suffer such stuff. they are DUMB!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I attended school in Los Angeles. The worst and most frightening racism I experienced was in Texas.

I, too, attended school in the Los Angeles area (more specifically, Van Nuys), and I am a native Californian. I'm 26 years old, and the first 24 years were spent in Southern California. I relocated to Texas about a year and a half ago because the job market here is more "LVN friendly".

[blueheaven]

My first nursing position was at a small nursing home in Bedford, Texas. This occurred in February and March 2006.

My coworkers were openly-racist white female nurses. They would regularly make off-hand comments such as, "All of our black employees need criminal background checks" and "The Hurricane Katrina evacuees were all scum."

You are fortunate to have not experienced racism from fellow nurses. Consider yourself lucky.

On the other hand I have faced reverse racism from my black african-american co-workers. Our mix on my unit is such that I am a minority and don't think that it wasn't obvious when I came to work here. I use the term black as not everyone who is black is from africa. One of the nurses is from Haiti and she has not treated the way the others have. I work in a large downtown city hospital.

[EmerNurse, BSN, RN]

My first nursing job was in a similar place. I'd previously not ever realized that there was racism within, as well. I too was often the minority, with black nurses comprising American, Jamaican, Haitian and other "types" of "black" per se.

There was a definate difference in the way certain "types" were treated. Even the skin tone "lighter or darker" was cause for comment among them. I was truly shocked.

Naive I guess but it seems racism spans more than just the traditional american definition of "black/white".

We've got a long long way to go.

[kidznurse]

If you never thought about it, you have lived a very sheltered life and you are not part of the minority. I am an African American RN and I recently started working at a LTC facility that previously in its twenty year history had never employed an African American nurse. The facility has two African

American clients on the dementia unit. There was also one African American CNA that started off on the subacute unit but changed floors to dementia because of the harassment that she received from her coworkers. I feel like I am a pioneer at this facility, redirecting them in the behavior that they should portray toward a person because of their character and not react to the outside appearance of their skin. The DON is very supportive, in fact she is slowly increasing the number of African-American nurses employed at the facility.Now there are three of us. And all of us have at least five years experience in the field, in contrast to the average nurse at the facility that has worked at the same facility for less that three years and started off as a CNA at the same facility. They were not open to change. But I believe in time it will happen. Sometimes you have to be a change agent. Diversity is a reality in America, prejudice must become a subject of the past.

I am a non American nurse who has worked in other countries (including in a multi cultural New York) and now live and work in my country of origin.I have found that my neutral status has given me at worst disinterest and at best exemption from racism. I am interested in the insights of Afro American nurses who have worked in other countries . What challenges are there when working in other countries that do not have a history of oppression against their ethnicity? Are the considered only as American rather than a sub set of American ,and afforded more status as citizens of a "superpower"?

[pickledpepperRN]

EmerNurse:

Congratulations on becoming a grandmother. I envey you. My kids are pushing 40 and are not yet parents.

I know the racism among African Americans. I've probably heard more of it than blatent white racists remarks because people may think I condone it. Yup. A slight difference in skin tone means a lot to many. There are historical reasons for it. I think my parents spared me from learning it in my soul so that was one I didn't have to overcome.

Kidznurse:

I've never worked in another state. My travels have been limited to Canada and Mexico. I speak some Spanish and didn't feel any different attitude than other travelers.

Camping we met people from many countries. We enjoyed each other. When my kids were young they played with other kids whose language they didn't understand.

Running, chasing, and showing off are the same in any language.

[Tiwi]

I think it depends on the area you live in. Our town is so diverse - English/European Australians, Indigenous Australians, Thai, Indonesian, Greek, Chinese, Maori etc. The history of this town has been multicultural from the start, with the original aboriginal ppl, the English, Malaccans, Chinese, and Greek influences. And at our hospital the "mix" is constantly changing too; with more Filipina and Zimbabwe nurses, at the moment. We also have Aboriginal Health Workers, who in the hospitals are on a par with ENs but in remote communities have a far ranging role, similar to that of nurses - they are licenced through the Professional Licencing Boards as are nurses physios doctors etc.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

My first nursing job was in a similar place. I'd previously not ever realized that there was racism within, as well. I too was often the minority, with black nurses comprising American, Jamaican, Haitian and other "types" of "black" per se.

There was a definate difference in the way certain "types" were treated. Even the skin tone "lighter or darker" was cause for comment among them. I was truly shocked.

Naive I guess but it seems racism spans more than just the traditional american definition of "black/white".

We've got a long long way to go.

You're speaking of intraracism (racism within a race of people). And, yes, it is all too common among black people in America. Lighter-skinned blacks and biracial people are placed at the top of the pecking order and treated well, whereas darker-skinned blacks receive the crappy end of the stick. This intraracism started during the antebellum days, when lighter-skinned house slaves were placed at the top of the pecking order.