Patients and the race card

[CanadaEh]

I am a fairly new nurse and many of my co-workers have run into situations where a patient pulls the race card on them. This has not yet happened to me, but I'm sure with time it will.

Just wondering how others have handled this type of situation and how patients have reacted.

Thanks!

[metal_m0nk, BSN, RN]

nope, i certainly am not.

as we have seen, it takes all kinds.

leslie

Meaning?

Just curious...

[Claritee]

I had to Google this issue to see if their was any research on it. There's tons! Here's one article:

Minorities get less treatment for their pain - Health - Pain center - msnbc.com

Apparently, minorities get less treatment for pain. Who knew?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Korky, excuse me if it seems that I'm picking on you but do you not see the glaring contradiction in these comments?

Whites should not feel guilty for the sins of their forefathers. Fair enough. But you are embarassed by the actions of someone else who happens to be the same race as yourself? Really? I don't see why her (lack of) work ethic should reflect on me and I reject the idea that she makes other Black people look bad. She only makes herself look bad.

Hmm, interesting. I will think about what you said. I know she should bear the results herself of her actions, that her behavior has nothing to do with me. Maybe it's analogous to parents being embarrassed when their kids mess up? Or my neighbor being ashamed when his cousin/aunt/whoever related to him messes up.

I couldn't quite see why my sis-in-law was ashamed when our BIL (not her husband) was arrested for a crime. And yet, I could.

I guess it's like that maybe. We all want to be proud of our own people. I must ponder, though, your analogy. I do seem to be saying 2 different things, don't I? Maybe I haven't had my coffee yet?

At any rate, thanks for pointing that out. And I don't think you're picking on me, Sharon. I was worried that you'd think I was too harsh toward you. Hey, blessings, Sis, and I hope we are pals.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Herein lies the problem.

It starts when people who are racially or ethnically different from the person who is observing behavior are automatically grouped together due to ignorance. It's the core definition of stereotyping.

Then, when this stereotype takes a foothold and invades our discourse, people who share the race or ethnicity of those behave in a preconceived stereotypical way become embarrassed by so-called "proof" of the stereotype's reality a/e/b the bolded phrase above

Then, the racial/ethnic minority becames divided within their own community, and those embarrassed are then labeled by their own community as "uppity."

This is a vicious cycle, and many can see that the only ones relatively free from this vicious cycle are the middle and upper classes of Western European whites in the US. Just being white isn't enough to protect one from it because I've seen stereotyping of Eastern Europeans whose immigration into this country increased exponentially only after the fall of Communism in the late 80s. It also happens with poor whites. And, no matter the race or ethnicity, homosexuals get it from everyone.

We are human beings and differences will always cause friction. I'm not naive enough to think the human race will ever have a kumbaya moment. We never will. But, what we can do is continue to work toward changing our culture enough to make explicit outward expression of prejudices culturally unacceptable, including the unsubstantiated claims of racism that are clearly used to manipulate and force acceptance of bad behavior.

For me, there was no stereotype. This one aide was just a terrible worker. Because she's black like me, I was ashamed. It didn't mean I knew she'd be lazy because she was black or that I think all black aides are lazy. Not so at all. This one aide was black, lazy, and it embarrassed me, a black man. No generalization here.

I was always taught not to bring shame to the family, our religion, our school, our neighborhood. I was taught to behave and make all those groups proud of me. Kind of like being in a fraternity or the Marine Corps or a student at a certain school, or an employee on a certain ward. Espirit d'corps.

And I don't feel guilty about the lazy aide. I just feel embarrassed by her. That's different than guilt.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

oh it permeates a lot deeper than just managers..... a lot deeper.

Can you please elaborate?

[MassED, BSN, RN]

I had to Google this issue to see if their was any research on it. There's tons! Here's one article:

Minorities get less treatment for their pain - Health - Pain center - msnbc.com

Apparently, minorities get less treatment for pain. Who knew?

that's basic nursing school information - cultural differences in reporting pain. With reporting of pain comes treatment. Stoic patient likely may lead to less pain intervention - think Wong Baker. Some cultures are less likely to even report pain or "complain."

[sissykim]

Understand, when we hurt, it seems no one cares. I was a fresh post-op and was denied to be medicated as ordered.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

Can you please elaborate?

though I am a believer in unions for collective bargaining purposes, the downside of unions is not solely poor managers. While the sum of its parts is to protect and allow for fair wages, safe staffing ratios, compensation, etc. so does it also come with the protection of the bad nurses as well. So there might be a nurse occupying a staffing spot on a shift, but patient safety still goes out the window with a poor and unsafe nurse. What respite is there for the safe nurse who has a legitimate complaint about an unsafe nurse to that union? I do believe in management being separate from nursing issues ultimately. How can a hospital not have a conflict of interest from their pursuit of profit over nursing issues. They want to have the least amount of staffing to turn a profit, so how can they fairly address staffing issues?

Of course addressing patient safety will ultimately lead to less variances and less liability for a hospital who in turn might address safe staffing ratios (to reduce risk), but what is a hospitals number one priority? Which is more profitable? Patient care (I mean, really) or profit? Being a business IS a conflict to healthcare. A conflict to good patient care.

Ultimately there should be a mediator who can see both sides of an issue (or business) to address all sides fairly. In my opinion. I have worked on both sides of the coin and come out on the side of a union.

I'll be damned if I can even remember the original point.... !!!!!!

Managers are a problem..... there are many twisted angles to this thread, geez!!

[Fiona59]

Understand, when we hurt, it seems no one cares. I was a fresh post-op and was denied to be medicated as ordered.

Pain is pain, regardless of skin colour. I've been "forgotten" about post-op and once in the ER. This was in the hospital that I work in, so either they hated my guts or the nurse who wasn't "white" decided that the chubby Scot wasn't in pain.

It's just down to either a really busy shift, an inept nurse or the nurse didn't return to notify that pain meds were withheld due to proximity of last dose, resp rate, level of drowziness.

[Claritee]

that's basic nursing school information - cultural differences in reporting pain. With reporting of pain comes treatment. Stoic patient likely may lead to less pain intervention - think Wong Baker. Some cultures are less likely to even report pain or "complain."

It's not about under-reporting, it's about under-medicating. One study I saw had people with bone pain who were under-medicated as compared to others with the same type of pain, even by members of their own minority group.

Also, we recently watched a video that perpetuated the stereotype about the "stoic" patients belonging to a certain group. After the video was over, every member of the class belonging to that group refuted it. Maybe it's the perception by others of this "stoicism" that is partly to blame.

[sissykim]

fiona59

i was a new post-op the nurse stated," you do not need percocet for such a surgery, i can give you tylenol." we do not make this stuff up. we are treated differently by clients, managers, banks, loan officers, patients, teachers, police officers, the news media, military, and on and on. doctors, lawyers, dogs, politicians, voters, employers, taxi cab operators, elevator operators, older women, cartoon artist, car sales men, and other nurses.

i am done with this forum and post.

[IRONMANRN]

Example of "playing the race card " is when a pts family member yells at you for not speaking to their mother in Chinese when the pt has lived in American since after World War II and never learned English. Sorry folks, the Rules for our Country were written in English. Take it easy on the author and look in the mirror!