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?
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.
Only because I know now how it feels to be pulled out from the crowd and treated differently because of what I look like.
I lived in a city where there was 15% of White Americans, and there was 86% of Latino Americans.
I was constantly called Wera- meaning a light colored skin person. I was judged outright for looking different! I found it to be very offensive. What if I called them "brownies?" Even typing that feels offensive.
It took me a year to get the respect of the staff.
I would be told by Spanish speaking patients and staff that it was a responsibility of mine to learn Spanish, on a daily basis.
They would say that since I was living on a border city that it was something that I needed to do. Little did they know that everyday it was a goal to learn a new word in Spanish, and I could actually speak a bit of it. So they were sure suprised when they would tell me to learn Spanish and I would then throw out my newfound language skills!
I was told by staff that certain patients did not want me to take care of them, because I did not speak Spanish.
Finally it got so bad because I did start learning Spanish I would hear people talking about me, saying things like "she dosent know what she is doing." "Dumb Wera."
Staff would yell "Wera" across the halls and I would know they were calling for me. I finally stopped responding to that.
The worst thing for me was constantly being asked "where are you from?" With a quick "you cannot be from here because you are white." I was not from El Paso, but I was so tired of having to explain where I was from that I would tell people I was born and raised in El Paso. I would never ask them where they were from, because whether it be from the South Pole or Pluto it shouldnt matter.
I would get the worst patient assignments. Finally I started speaking up for myself so that way I could actually get out before 9pm.
Still, I went to work everyday. I learned Spanish by myself. I changed the way the staff viewed me. I was not a white girl with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had been through trials and tribulations in my life that were horrendous.
I finally started telling some of the staff about my family and how I did not have the easiest life. They were shocked, they actually believed that my family was wealthy and that this was my first job ever. Little did they know I started working at the age of 12, and had worked all through highschool and college to pay for my education.
When I was leaving the hospital to move, I was pulled aside by one of the Nurses who treated me the worst. She apologized for how she treated me and she started to cry.
Now at a hospital where being a White American is the majority, it is still bothersome. We have African American staff and they constantly get asked where they are from.
One day I was in the room with my African American CNA and he was asked "where are you from?" I said that I lived in a city where the Hispanic culture was dominant and I was asked that constantly, and it really hurt my feelings to be asked that. She then said she was "sorry," and that I was right.
This awful treatment based on color is well just awful.
poor thing. I lived in El Paso for 18 monhts. EEeeeeeeekkkk! I was stationed at Fort Bliss. I wasn't a nurse there, or a nurse at the time (long time ago) but it was quite a hostile city, once you stepped outside of the Army base (and its hospital).
Specializes in ICU, ER, RESEARCH, REHAB, HOME HEALTH, QUALITY.
I can appreciate your post and nursing has been great for me, where else can you make money at will, just by picking up an extra shift..
I have been a nurse for 31 years, but have found it a challenge to get promoted so I got a MSN, MBA so there would be no question about my credentials.. and that's another story..
I have experienced some ignorance from both patients and co-workers and gotten some rough assignments, but I feel I can handle anything and have great critical thinking skills. Nurses as a whole eat their young no matter what the race which is a shame but in the end we are all here to take care of the patient and their families and it makes it all worth while..
I enjoyed reading your article. Your brought up a lot points that I agree with. Although, racism and discrimination still exist in our society, we have the choice of not letting it define who we are as human beings. M.L.K stated that we should not judge others by the color of their skin instead they should judged by their character. Although many may have preconceived notions about me as a black gay male, but it is by my character that sets me apart.
Love you. love your accomplishments....we all suffered thru nursing "SKOOL" Black or white...it was never right. All the religious agenda that still exists .The, HAVE TO DO THE BEST RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! mentality. The love of pt care. The ethical judgements that make your evey day. The heart break and sorrow. The connection.....hmmm. NURSING!!~!!!! Live it, love it, leave it. We all make life decisions..Hmmmm. Remember that choices have consequences and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Something too many people still don't know, or don't want to remember.
When we are cut, we all bleed red.
I learned that in the ER. I choose to not forget that, but it's sometimes hard to remember when one is the only (insert stereotype here) in the place.
Nursing is done from the heart. It has very little to do with age, skin color, hair texture, genitals, height, weight or shoe size. Nursing is from the heart. You know, that organ that pumps the red blood we bleed when we get cut.
I am a registered professional nurse, have been one for more than 37 years, with my initial nursing program being the BSN. I can tell you that over the years, perceptions about the skills, qualifications, and experience by others has and STILL does occur when you have a Black face. I have had a MSN (also another graduate degree for more than 20 years) for over 34 years, have advanced practice certification and although I have run rings around my so called peers, they did and still are not subject to the type of scrutiny and review to which I am subjected, which is only due to race. In one nursing program where I was hired, I asked the students to go around the room and introduce themselves. One student, right after she stated her name, said that she had never had a "negro" instructor! This student complained about my grading of her clinical performance to the department chair, without coming to me first to discuss. Her complaint: I didn't smile enough for her! Instead of the department chair calling me in and asking me about what was going on, she went behind my back and started an investigation on me, calling my other 14 students and asking them whether or not I smiled enough---what??? This student managed to get another student who sympathized with her plight, to join her in complaining about me. After the department chair finished her "investigation", she then informed me that the 2 students' complaints were unfounded. When I decided to quit on the spot, the department chair then tried all kinds of tactics, including having the dean call me in for "tea", to make me change my mind about quitting. Would such tactics have been taken with a white instructor, I guarantee they would not have been taken.
Nursing Me Black, if you think that going South is the answer, it is not. While I am from the midwest (worked a few years in Chicago, Milwaukee, etc.), I lived and worked in the largest southern city, Atlanta. Guess what, one cannot run from racism---it's in the south as well. Just recently, I had a group of all white students complain to the lead instructor about the amount of paperwork I was requiring of them. When I was in school, there was no complaining about paperwork, these were the requirements and that was it. While I was expecting fallout from being a Black professor with an all white student roster, I did not expect the fall out to be so quick. I received a phone call from the lead instructor the day after orientation, questioning me about the amount of paperwork I had assigned. When I reminded her that all I was doing was following the written guidelines that she had provided from the school, she backed down and changed her tune.
While we would like to hope that the world is color blind, we must not forget that the world is made up of people who are insecure, intimidated, and have been socialized to believe that color equals ability, intelligence, skill, etc. Case in point: former president Bush was dumb as a box of rocks, and could not even hold an intelligent press conference. Fast forward to President Obama. Some obscure nobody of a legislator had the nerve to not only disrespect the Office but the man and call him a "liar." Nobody dared to challenge Bush in such a way. It does not matter if one is President of the United States or Nursing Me Black, the disrespect may still come. It would probably do you some good to take a look at the writings of Tim Wise, Robert Jensen, Frances Cress Welsing, and Neely Fuller, to get another perspective on the reality of race in these United States of America.
I don't take Mookie's post at all as dismissing anyone's experience. Rather, it is saying that you may have those experiences, but you're not the only ones. White people deal with it too; being white in the midst of mostly blacks in effect makes the white person "colored." Maybe Mookie, instead of using the "race card" term should have used the "victim card" term. Stop playing the victim because of your race, and move on. We see it all too often in society: black people or others using the victim card to explain their own failures. "It's not my fault, it's society's fault." This country strives to make opportunities available for everyone, and in fact roots for black people to succeed. Ever heard of Affirmative action racial quotas? Or black scholarships? Or black "civl rights" groups? Just because a person is white doesn't mean that they are born with a silver spoon, or that doors automatically open at one's presence.
Life is what you make it. The best way to stop stop discrimination is to stop discriminating.
What many who do not suffer discrimination do not understand is that the problem is not with available opportunities, but rather with constant road blocks and expectations. While all whites are not born with silver spoons, they share one thing in common...the benefit of the doubt. It is expected that whites will succeed. If a minority is successful, it is somehow surprising or exceptional.
I am still looking for someone that has NOT experienced discrimination.
I am a middle aged caucasian guy. I have always experienced it. Usually in the form of legal minorities believing I am prejudiced, hold certain beliefs or am "prejudiced deep down inside and just dont know it" because I am what they call a white. . I was raised in a home that taught all individuals are equal until they show you they are not. At this point, when someone starts claiming discrimination I try very hard not to just roll my eyes. It is very possible that after a lifetime of hearing all the claims about how I am because I am "white", that I am starting to discriminate against certain people without giving them the chance to prove me wrong(or right).
By the way, why is it OK to refer to me as a "white" but the world gets offended when I refer to someone as a "black". I came back to edit this to my post after rereading the previous post. I am very much offended when you use that term to describe me.
I am still looking for someone that has NOT experienced discrimination.
I am a middle aged caucasian guy. I have always experienced it. Usually in the form of legal minorities believing I am prejudiced, hold certain beliefs or am "prejudiced deep down inside and just dont know it" because I am what they call a white. . I was raised in a home that taught all individuals are equal until they show you they are not. At this point, when someone starts claiming discrimination I try very hard not to just roll my eyes. It is very possible that after a lifetime of hearing all the claims about how I am because I am "white", that I am starting to discriminate against certain people without giving them the chance to prove me wrong(or right).
By the way, why is it OK to refer to me as a "white" but the world gets offended when I refer to someone as a "black". I came back to edit this to my post after rereading the previous post. I am very much offended when you use that term to describe me.
I have to assume you are addressing my comment.
It is unfortunate that you have also suffered discrimination. Those that have wronged you were also incorrect. Please notice that I did not mention race in the sentence you seem to have issue with.
I am sorry you are offended, but I was speaking to the person who wrote the comment imbedded in my response who used that term. I have not been offended by the term "black" so I do not know why you cannot use it. My guess is that you have not had lots of experience with actual black people. It is not usually the word that is an issue, but the tone when using it.
p.s. I am done posting about this topic. Can we move on to more productive discussions?
Yes, I was refering to your use of the term "whites". Were you not refering to a race? If not, then what were you refering to?
Pulleeeaaassseee! I have lived in more countries than most people have states, have lived in more states than most people have lived in different cities, including MS, LA, FL, TN and NY but I have never been around black people? The two men I have most respected in my life both are African Americans (fellow military). Nice try at a personal jab but you are wrong.
You are right about one thing though. It is time to end this conversatation because I have learned that in spite of the popular saying "we all need to talk about it" there are times you can tell that just isn't going to work. Today I just had to comment. Sorry if I offended you.
Blacks all too often say "we just want to be equal" when in fact many of their deeds and words indicate that this is only partly true, as other times they want more than equal rights. Affirmative action, an overly politically correct atmosphere, civil "rights" organizations that exist largely to bully white people into submission, threats of riots, etc, are not the fruits of a desire for equal rights. They are a desire for better-than-equal rights. And the evils of slavery are just an excuse being perpetually played to dupe into guilt those who neither owned slaves nor ever knew anyone who was a slave. I don't feel guilty at all for being white, or for the things done over a hundred years ago. I'm probably as equally proud of being white as you are of being black, and I'd dare say that that is more than fair and reasonable.
I picked this out because society tends buy into the negative that majority displays. Most black people do not use the "N" word. Yes most of us have experienced racism but if you went through what most blacks go through you would not make it. I had a black teacher in the third grade that was just as racist against blacks and she was other minorities. We all had to sit in the back and regardless of your work we all received C's or less. I have also had white teachers do the same. I have been in classroom where no one said hi or even kiss my A until they needed help understanding the course material. I asked about a study group and was told that "we don't think that you would want to drive here to be in a study group." Would I have asked if I didn't want to drive 45 mins for the group. I have had teachers who did want to answer my questions about course material and have to turn around and ask me to help their pets. If you feel that way about blacks it is your right but until you have lived in our shoes you cannot even try to understand how many minorities feel. There is good and bad in all races. Not all BLACKS riot. For MOST if not the MAJORITY of blacks do not even listen to Jackson or the the other rev. so please don't bring them up.
I will not negate that you have had bad experiences with blacks but just like all whites aren't racist not all blacks are bad. I experience racism on a regular basis. On the job, in stores, everywhere. I have been told that I would have to have a masters to move up in nursing, only to turn around and see my white counterparts get the position with less education and experience. Another person that I know has two degrees (two bachelors) and was told she would have to have a masters. The job was given to a RN with an ADN with less seniority. I know people don't want to hear it but it happens daily. Again you have the right to your opinion but living in the city that I live racism, heck sexism is alive and well. Again don't assume that a black person hasn't worked to get where they are at because 9 times out of 10 we have had to do better than our counterparts to even be considered for the same position.
Treat me like you want want to be treated. If you are short with me expect the same. If you treat me with respect I will do the same.
MassED, BSN, RN
2,636 Posts
poor thing. I lived in El Paso for 18 monhts. EEeeeeeeekkkk! I was stationed at Fort Bliss. I wasn't a nurse there, or a nurse at the time (long time ago) but it was quite a hostile city, once you stepped outside of the Army base (and its hospital).