Nursing Me Black

Red. Pink. Purple. Green. Yellow. Many of these shades I had already seen in my clinicals. Whether it was from vomit, blood, or the precarious hospital lunches, I always came across some primary's shade. However, I was continuously bereft of my own color. Black. Why didn't I see anyone like me? Nurses Announcements Archive Article

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It was like I was a needle cap placed among a sea of cotton balls. It just seemed...off. Is it even possible? Where is my version of Florence Nightingale?

Perhaps I should get connected and join

  • Association of black nurses
  • Black nurses society
  • Black nurses r us
  • Nurses who are black,inc.
  • You're black? And a nurse? Join us!

Maybe this was my ticket to finally feel like I 'm among the ranks of professional individuals, to belong even if it is dangerously close to the sidelines. As a nursing student, I always felt like I had to prove myself to my patients and my instructors. Even though I come from the fabulous city of Chicago, the majority of black nurses work for the county and therefore I was never in contact with them to be inspired, to feel safe, to find a reason to keep going.

But I did.

It was arduous, daunting, and exciting all at the same time, but I steered clear of anything that was a dead giveaway for an excuse. Since I come from a society that is seeping with self-doubt and a "crabs in a bucket" mentality, it wasn't a pretty journey; that's what made it perfect. It feels so rewarding to have little girls run up to me and say that they want to be a nurse now that they've seen someone actually come through the woodwork. It's like I give them hope for something that typically seems so unattainable. They have yet to experience true hardships and challenges, but hopefully I've shown them that it's all worth it in the end. They just need the passion to overcome any obstacle.

But you know what I realized?

It's not about being black and therefore feeling so accomplished about the day's work. It's about being a human being and a nurse. It's about recognizing your own potential before you begin concentrating on the color of your skin.

We don't need...

  • Association of black nurses
  • Black nurses society
  • Black nurses r us
  • Nurses who are black inc.
  • You're black? And a nurse? Join us!

... To tell us that we're important. We can only find confidence within ourselves. We have already made great strides towards becoming whatever we want to be and our future looks even brighter.

Maybe it's best for us all to figuratively remove the rods and cones from our eyes and become colorblind. A white nurse is a black nurse is a Hispanic nurse is a Filipino nurse is a Chinese nurse is an Indian nurse. I plan on doing so just to show people how beneficial it is.

Yes, we may be outnumbered as nurses when it comes to statistics, but I choose to think of us as diamonds; rare and hard to come by!

Be human. Be beautiful. But most of all, be...lieve.

Nursethis21, BSN, RN

UIC Alumna

Specializes in med-surg, med-psych, psych.

Ladies and gentlemen, please, grab a drink hot chocolate and lend me your ears...

Rasism is alive and well in the USA! Call it the " race card", paint it black, brown, white, or minority discrimination cruelty, bad treatment... It 's all dealing with the same bottom line: the "Office politics game". It just that in nursing, it's ruthless!! There is an expensive book ($60's) for reference : "Ending nurse to nurse hostility, why nurses eat their young and each other". An awesome investment to purchase or borrow to get insight on the problem and resolution.

Imagine staying in someone's house you hate and they hate you, but you have to stay there just temporarily. What would be the savvy way to "Conduct yourself" for harmony or sanity for you for the while you have to be there? That should be your premise when you find yourself working at a place where you are treated badly until you can move on!

The savvy way?...

#1 know you will have to move on!

Unless you want to come home everyday displacing your anger on some poor unsuspecting soul. Coping , sadly, means insidious incorporation of the negativity into your non-work life. Focus beefing up your resume. Find the best thing that place has to offer and rob it blind!, e.G., free classes, off shifts,in-house career change...Etc. Keep to yourself, stay out of click groups mostly by having lunch alone and away. Spend downtime with your patients versus the nurses station. Bring school books to hide in if your are stuck in the nurses' station versus joining in gossip. Paint the picture of yourself to them that fits in if the truth makes you more of a target, (lie about your middle name. The whole whole can find out anything abut you with your middle name and a computer like your social security number does).

#2 if it's several co-workers it's management too!

Strong leadership will not allow bullying for any reason on any level! Employees never win grievances...Even if they win the grievance. So ya gonna move on as soon as you can! Flight versus fight unless you are a born fighter.

#3 there is such a thing as a good job fit.

Yes there is some good news. It took me years to find it! All folks of the same race can sometimes treat each other worse than if 1 or 2 of another race is in the mix. Race is just one symptom of the sickness that is the nursing colleague hostility. A good fit is an environment where the majority accepts folks even if they don't like them. . "You" might be the one that throws a monkey-wrench in the works. And your re-adjustment will keep it harmonious.Being smarter or more experienced is sometimes a liability. It"S basic office politics!!

#4 recognize a good fit and hang in there!

Where folks go out for drinks or fun together outside the jb. Where there are bay & bridal showers, potlucks and thoughtful team spirit even if it's lame, make it work for you. Make yourself fit it.

I have experienced discrimination anyone would be hard-pressed to match in the workplace over the years. I shot for being the boss so I could change the environment and in some settings that made perfect fits. But in other settings it made me more of a target. It's trial and error..Then game-over. I'm very happy where I am now.

It should never be acuity, patient population...Etc that you causes you to resign. Climates change and a good team can effect positive changes. But bullies just do not die!

Seek, seek, seek... And yee shall find satisfaction!!!

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cxg174 said:
I hate to say it (really hate to say it), but I worked for a hospital once in a town that had a majority (statistically, demographically) black population. Please don't get offended because I said that- it is just demographics. Very few nurses were black at the hospital. It was a strange imbalance in comparison to the town.

I loved this town, and I loved the people. They never treated me differently even tough I was white, and kind of geeky at that. I was treated better by the people of that town than anyplace else that I have ever worked. I always wondered why more of the kids growing up there did not want to go into nursing. I got a sense that it was discouraged because as WE ALL KNOW nursing is based in servitude. The early nurses were either maids, or nuns/brothers in a religious order. I think there was still too much associating it with being a servant- too much of a reminder of slavery. This is changing I think and nursing is slowly, so slowly turning into a profession.

I really hope that all on this board who still have anger issues can let it go. As I said before we as a society have much bigger issues to overcome now. We have to think globally and forget about who might have predjudice against us because we are white, black, Indian, woman, gay, Catholic, or whatever demographics you can pin on us. EVERYBODY picks on nurses- can't we at least stick together against our shared enemies of abusive employers, pompous doctors, frivolous lawsuits, understaffing and overtime?

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! Why in the world would you apologize? Why would you "hate to say it" You lived in a town that had more black people than white people? and you apologize??? Do you have some kind of guilt?

I am not a racist but you just made my head explode. I see that post as a sign of the REAL problem in this wonderful country. Everyone needs to just get over it. Now if you will excuse me, I need to take a few moments and put my head back together. I am leaving for work and might need to use it.

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Specializes in Geriatric, long-term, home health, ICU.

Well said ? We come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. so do nurses. You sound amazing!

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Specializes in CVICU, CDU, ED.
secretsy said:
Hello to "Nursing Me Black" I am pleased to meet your acquaintance. I am A female of African American heritage who happens to hold a BSN in nursing. I can not express to you the hard ship that I have been through over the years as a nurse. I have been forced to resign my first year as a RN due to being taught by other nurses all the wrong ways of doing clinical procedures. I have had another facility suspend me for being a patient advocate which is what I was taught to do. I have had a facility try to steal my license from me intentionally by having one of their staff members steal narcotics from my med cart prior to me coming on shift. I have a pending legal matter with this particular facility. Overall, I have had a lack of acceptance period in the years of nursing and had to work harder at it and prove myself qualified for the job by my knowledge base and job performance. I just find that when they see the RN status I am not liked because I went to school a little longer than most. Why... I say to myself the hatred? Not only that, as you stated earlier you look around and you find yourself a minority. The truth is I have seen this to be the case. I have even tried to research where are African American Nurses residing in America and whether they are content or not? I found that most minority nurses are predominantly in southern states. I said that may be my next move. More than anything I believe nurses in general should be unionized because there are so many avenues that an employer can use to let you go in this field of work. Dont you agree?

I am also sorry to hear that you have experienced such hardships in your time as an RN. I am currently applying to several schools in my area, and I hope to have a positive and enlightening experience as a Nursing Student. I want to believe that I am capable of serving my community with excellence, regardless of race, just as well as any other student of different racial heritage. I hope that your case is the exception rather than the standard as to how African-American Nurses are treated...I will not let that discourage me from attaining my goals!:redbeathe

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NurseThis21, that was a brilliantly written thread! May God bless you, your nursing career, and your influence on others.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Found this an odd post; we have many black nurses in the Cleveland Ohio area. Seems someone is always pulling the race card; gets a bit old...

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'Tis true. The statistics are against us, but that doesn't explain the whole story. Minorities are poorly represented in the field, but they do exist. We have to work harder to prove ourselves; perhaps it will be better for the patient that we strive for excellence, even if it is under such conditions. The hardships one faces will make them that much better of a nurse. In the way past, nurses were typically the cast offs of society. Now that we are more educated than ever, we may tend to lose some of the life edge that can help to empathize and relate to clients. A nurse who understands what is up can aid in the therapeutic process and relay the info that she does, in fact, care and wants to make the pt. feel better. And what happens to the cohesiveness we have in nursing school once we get out in to working world? We should maintain that! If it was moral support through school, why not now. I like your logic. A color blind world is way overdue. :up: Granted, I'm not a nurse yet, just a first year nursing student. I do hope that things change soon for the better of the nursing profession.

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That is sad. I am sorry you have to carry that with you. Ethnic guilt is just as strange as ethnic pride. We have no choice but to be the color we are. It is not like we set out to achieve something and reached our goal through hard work. It's more like being ashamed or proud that the sky is blue. A waste of time. We had nothing to do with it.

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Specializes in Skilled Nursing and Rehab.

WAR - Bob Marley

Until the philosophy
Which hold one race superior and another
Inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned
Everywhere is war
Me say war

That until there no longer
First class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the color of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the color of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all
Without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never attained
Now everywhere is war
War

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
That hold our brothers in Angola
In Mozambique
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled
Utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war
Me say war

War in the east
War in the west
War up north
War down south
War war
Rumors of war
And until that day,
The African continent
Will not know peace,
We Africans will fight we find it necessary
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory

Of good over evil
Good over evil, yeah
Good over evil
Good over evil, yeah
Good over evil

* Just something I thought some people could use.. including myself...

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Specializes in Long Term, Psych, Dementia, Rehab.

nursethis21......

I see nothing wrong with you stating how you naturally feel, and I do not think that you owe anyone on this forum or in this world any explanation. People will always try to validate their opinions on why they think something is or isn't. Everyone has a right to their opinion and you should be too.

It's not as if you are sitting at home on your behind all day making excuses of why you cant get ahead in life. You are 23 years old holding a BSN. Whether you know it or not you have done a lot. You fought hard to get what you want and believe me you're gonna have to fight twice as hard to keep it.

How dare anyone try to tell another person what they should feel and what they shouldn't, what they need to get over and what they don't need to get over.

I had a patient in a nursing home where I do clinical say to one of my instructor "I didn't know that they had black nurses now!!". For a minute I was like this man has got to be joking..But he was dead serious..The truth of the matter is racism exist whether you want to admit it or not and it is not just against blacks.. Someone in every race, class or creed does it like it or not!!

I was not born in this country but I have lived here over half of my life and the truth of the matter is a lot of things that has happen in this country's history is disgusting and dehumanizing. And it still exists in today's world "But no one wants to speak of it". When a person speak of it people want to turn a deaf ear, and tell them to get over it. But I have come to the conclusion that this comes with the territory. I am not looking for no type of sympathy or pity from anyone whats-o-ever...

Whatever happened to freedom of speech?

Anyways I know how heated these posts can get some this will be my only response to this thread.

Cheerio folks....

-the truth is an offense but not a sin (Bob Marley)

-lies are sweet when the truth is bitter (Louise Bennett)

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

People of all colors are racist. Not every member of every race, but some members of all of them. Heaping the whole terrible weight of racism in the world on one group is in itself racism of the worst stripe. The most common fallacy in this type of discussion is always that it's the white dude that's the racist. It always comes down to "We'd have a colorblind world if only those white racists weren't the way they are!". It happened in this very thread before 10 posts had been made.

This world will never be colorblind as long as we all think it's the "other" guy that needs to fix his behavior.

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But doesn't it also often come down to "We'd have a colorblind world if only (insert minority group here) people would either stop saying the world isn't colorblind because it mostly is, already and/or sublimate any cultural differences they may have to be exactly like us in all but appearance?" Because I seem to see that just as often, and I'm seeing it a LOT here.

And it's interesting that some have characterized the OP's post as somehow bitter, because it seemed a bit Pollyannaish/utopian to me. Networking is usually done through groups of friends and family... most people have friends and family of the same race of their own volition. That's fine -- even if it puts assimilated minorities like myself in a sort of social no-man's land/ether -- but as long as social life largely remains racially stratified, there will be a need for organizations that connect members of marginalized groups for networking purposes. Now, you can protest the explicit racial label all you want -- because for some reason, most people don't seem to have a problem with groups that are composed of primarily one ethnicity without an explicit racial label... de facto, rather than de jure separation -- but they still have a purpose in this day and age. For instance, I don't have a problem with groups that address male nurses at all, because in a field with a traditionally feminine connotation/staff, I can understand how they may seem like outsiders at times and have needs/questions/mentoring situations that are more likely to be adequately addressed by another male nurse. And I'm fine with not having a colorblind world. As long as there's mutual respect, there's no need to pretend that everyone's physically or culturally identical, or should be. Color is fine. Color hierarchies are the problem, and they need to die, but there's no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

And anyone who thinks she's pulled the "race card", can you describe why you believe that, complete with quotes from the original post, because I'm not seeing it... or is mentioning one's race at all considered "the race card", now? *scratches head* And when minority-on-white prejudice is mentioned/cited as an issue that has loomed rather large in a person's life, is that also considered "playing the race card"? If not, why?

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