Patients and the race card

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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!

IOW, there's no way to know whether this worker is manipulating the situation or she can actually prove her assertions ... if she can't, then management needs to stop running scared and do what they need to do. The worst that can happen is a lawsuit and if they're on the side of the angels then they have nothing to worry about.

bolding, mine.

and the bolded is exactly what i think the problem is.

that everyone fears the looming lawsuit of racism.

to me, it really is as simple as documenting and following the discipline policy to a tee.

for the life of me, i fail to understand how a worker can manipulate the situation, if his/her work habits are that substandard.

paranoia, self-destroyer.

leslie

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It's very disturbing that minorities, of which I am one, often do not understand that THEY are the racists. That is, they are often so full of anger and hatred toward whites that they can't see that they have only to look at a white and they just hate that person. They don't know the white's name or anything else but they hate that white individual. I am so sick and tired of it. And the way some of the people here jumped on the OP reflects that knee-jerk reaction.

For all we know, the OP might be a minority!

I agree that her term "play the race card" was offensive. Still, the way people jumped on her was disturbing.

I hope we all keep striving to do better. Myself included.

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If a patient accuses you of racism you just ask yourself if you are treating that patient any different than you would someone of another race. If in your heart you know that you are not being racist then just let it go. Patients will accuse you of far worse regardless of your (or their) race.

It's not so easy to just let it go. It hurts. And the more often it happens, the more it hurts. Or does the skin thicken? It also angers and can cause hatred to grow, toward the race of the accuser, where none previously existed.

I think the person wrongly accused might find a gentle way to let it be known that he does not carry hatred in his heart toward people of different races. Maybe.

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Specializes in Med Surg,.
Payback is a female dog.:down:

We will never have:down: retribution payback, retaliation, we lost a mind, a body, a momma, a daddy, grandma, heritage, thousands millions. A mickie could never amount to what was stolen from us. And the race card was a free ticket, a passport, card blanch to do anything and everything to a people.

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"We will never have:down: retribution payback, retaliation, we lost a mind, a body, a momma, a daddy, grandma, heritage, thousands millions. A mickie could never amount to what was stolen from us. And the race card was a free ticket, a passport, card blanch to do anything and everything to a people."

Wow.

Well you know what? My Irish ancestors will never get retribution, retaliation, etc. for the hard work they put into share-cropping and the money, hours, family they lost to dis-honest people. Or for the sub-standard housing they received. Neither will my native American ancestors who were slayed and murdered, and had their land and home ripped away from them in a blink of an eye. Neither will the Jews who lost MILLIONS from starvation, gas and brutal death from genocide at the hands of Nazi Germany.

I HATE our nations history on slavery, and how this country treated African Americans. No one should ever be bought, sold, beaten, or made to drink out of a different water fountain b/c of their "color."

But African Americans are not the only people who have suffered in this country, or this world. And if we continue to hold hatred for these past actions in our hearts to the point of holding that hatred over a nations head, then we will NEVER overcome this tragedy.

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OttawaRPN[/b]]IA question for all of you...

I worked with an HCA once who, from her very first day of work, was an all around bad and miserable worker. Sleeping on the job, taking extra long breaks, not pulling her weight in patient care, improperly transferring etc., the list goes on. She had been suspended several times and management had been trying to get rid of her forever however, each time a disciplinary issue comes up she complains they're only trying to get rid of her because she's black. The union had been able to save her at least a dozen times. This has been going on for about 3 years and she still works there.

So, has she been playing the race card?

To this I would refer back to my original post in this thread. This woman may truly feel this way, whether she is a good employee or not. With that in mind, a person is only committing slander if they are maliciously saying something that they know to be untrue. The way she feels is just that.

In addition being a person who is black, but also a very hard worker, I can say that I have been the victim of racism in the workplace without a doubt. I usually can easily tell when I am on the receiving end of it. I won't go into details because I'd be here all night. What I will say is that when a lot of people in the workplace (not all by any means), claim a racial bias it is usually true to them. Note, I said true to them not actuality. So, if there is not a hint of racism behind your intent with this person, well state that plainly and let that be that.

Also, not in reply to the post quoted here but some others I saw, I am very well aware of the hardships, discrimination, degradation, and outright murders, that have been committed against groups of people in this world. I think that racism against blacks is a big deal in this country, because we were slaves in this country, we assigned different water fountains and bathrooms just over 50 years ago in this country, we were seen as less than other races in this country, and racism is still alive and well in this country. This country is home to former Senator of my state David Duke, this country is home to the KKK. So while oppression of any and all people matter, the discrimination of blacks in this country has been going on for some time, and it is STILL going on daily.

I am not one to cry rasiscm every chance I get. Honestly I don't, but I can say that I have been the victim of many times in my short life. That is a sad thing, that I shouldn't have to say. I am a twenty-something, and if you look into my eyes that have been on this earth since the 1980s you would be looking into the eyes of a person who has been told directly that she is too dark to be pretty, a person that has been told that people of her race could never hold any value in society, a person that has been told that everyone like her should be strung up and left for vultures. And that makes me mad. Not because those things hurt me, but because I am too young for this. What does this say for my children?

And with that said you can be sure, if I ever say that I feel someone is being racist, it's because I feel it in my heart, I feel it in my bones, and it is NOT a scapegoat or an excuse for ANYTHING!

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

You won't see me discounting a word you said, dreamnurse2b. I can't ever walk in another person's shoes - as far as I know none of us has conscious control over how, where, when and to who we are born. But I can shut up and listen. I can try to realize that the entire structure of my experience from day one is mine alone -it is not yours so I won't disrespect you by assuming my story is "truth" and your story isn't.

I'm sure all of us at times wish we could shirk off the sins of our forefathers - we can't. Even though I never owned another human being, I guess some of my ancestors may have, and the reverberations are still felt today. It isn't right that someone in their twenties has to shoulder some of the pain of our past. We're still a pretty young country. Growing is a lot of learning and comes in uneven ways. Some people will remain terminally stupid. All I can ask is that you see one person when you look at me - and I'll do the same for you.

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Specializes in Med Surg,.

to dream nurse2b,

when i signed up for nursing school the guidance counselor (who was a eurocentric man) told me there were no seat left, all the slots were taken. i was set to settle for secretarial courses. however, the next guidance counselor (an african american woman) must have looked closer at my profile and asked me again, "what is it that you want to study?" i replied, "secretarial work", she asked this question until i gave her my heart's desired answer, "i want to study nursing but the man before you told me there are no more openings in the nursing class". she adamantly responded with, "that is not true.” she proceeded and now i am a well educated black female. a clear indication of oppression, i too wonder, what will my children has to endure?

you lived under duke; i lived under helms an undercover jungle fever racist. his daughter had an african american momma. sounds like he really thought slavery had not ended, that it was still okay to buck black women and leave her with half black child to fend for herself.

sorry to say, no matter how ashame some of you are we cannot hide, blend, or truly assimulate as americans. irish, jewish, and black who would you be able to pick from the crowd? we are picked out as nurses and treated poorly. we have experienced race hate, every one of us. dahhhhhh

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I am not one to cry rasiscm every chance I get. Honestly I don't, but I can say that I have been the victim of many times in my short life. That is a sad thing, that I shouldn't have to say. I am a twenty-something, and if you look into my eyes that have been on this earth since the 1980s you would be looking into the eyes of a person who has been told directly that she is too dark to be pretty, a person that has been told that people of her race could never hold any value in society, a person that has been told that everyone like her should be strung up and left for vultures. And that makes me mad. Not because those things hurt me, but because I am too young for this. What does this say for my children?

And with that said you can be sure, if I ever say that I feel someone is being racist, it's because I feel it in my heart, I feel it in my bones, and it is NOT a scapegoat or an excuse for ANYTHING!

This made me want to cry.. I'm sorry you've grown up to the evils that I had believed had been going away since the 60s.

I'm not completely out of touch.. I know racism is still alive... but my heart breaks to think children are growing up being told these things in this day and age.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
It's very disturbing that minorities, of which I am one, often do not understand that THEY are the racists. That is, they are often so full of anger and hatred toward whites that they can't see that they have only to look at a white and they just hate that person. They don't know the white's name or anything else but they hate that white individual. I am so sick and tired of it. And the way some of the people here jumped on the OP reflects that knee-jerk reaction.

For all we know, the OP might be a minority!

I agree that her term "play the race card" was offensive. Still, the way people jumped on her was disturbing.

I hope we all keep striving to do better. Myself included.

If you read the responses, they had nothing to do with hatred of whites. Some of the posters are offfended by the use of the term "race card" because it implies that minorities arbitrarily use race as an excuse to manipulate others and that racism does not exist. Get it?

Funny thing, I'm a minority also and I don't know anyone who hates Whites. In fact, most of us are so concerned with our careers, our health and our families that we don't have time to dwell on hating other races. So before you assign a certain mindset or belief to an entire group, make sure you know what you're talking about. I have never described anyone on this forum or an entire group as racist and I don't appreciate anyone else doing it either.

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So before you assign a certain mindset or belief to an entire group, make sure you know what you're talking about. I have never described anyone on this forum or an entire group as racist and I don't appreciate anyone else doing it either.

i must've missed that post(s)...someone alleged an entire group of blacks was racist?

living in the city, i've certainly encountered a handful who seemingly resented white folks, but would never think to assign an entire race like that.

i'll have to reread this thread....maybe.

leslie

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If you read the responses, they had nothing to do with hatred of whites.

I didn't particularly get "anti-white" as a subtext in the first replies, either.

I had to ask for clarification myself because I've heard the term "play the race card" used in a second sense: When someone assumes to have an automatic rapport with someone else based on shared race, and thus expects to be able to get perks or preferential treatment.

This is slightly different from what I gather the OP meant. But I have definitely seen this happen, and it happens regardless of what group is in the majority or minority in any given place.

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