What in the world are we supposed to do when a patient makes it known that they "don't want any nurses of color taking care of them"?
There was a patient on my unit last week who mentioned this (I have no idea who she told this to, administration, the doctors, I have no idea who she notified). She was in her 20s and was not on the unit for mental illness issues at all, she had an OBGYN related surgery and was not under any sedative medications, she was able-bodied with full mental capacity! Thank goodness for the patient none of the nurses (all of whom but 2 out of 50-something nurses are people of color) knew about this patient's odd request until she was discharged from the hospital.
What I really wanted to do and say were unprofessional. What are we supposed to do when someone comes to hospital with this request?
I have a question. Why is it despicable for a patient to prefer a nurse of a certain color but it is defended if a female patient does not want a male nurse?
I have a question. Why is it despicable for a patient to prefer a nurse of a certain color but it is defended if a female patient does not want a male nurse?
Some women have been raped, and having to be vulnerable and depending on a male for physical care and personal hygeine might not only be uncomfortable, but trigger flashbacks for them. It has nothing to do with skin color, and everything to do with a traumatic experience and not being able to trust males in terms of depending on them for all- and very intimate- care.
This is a slightly different issue, but I'm dealing with a resident in my facility who is horribly prejudiced against Hispanics AND homosexuals.....
Here's the rub: the caregiver in question is my son. Which means I can't involve myself in any of this because it'll look like I'm favoring him over the resident, who doesn't know that he's my son (although the man's daughter does, and goes along with him anyway). It takes every bit of self-control I possess to go into my office and shut the door when I hear him yell across the dining room: "Hey, ya little f****t, my soup's cold!" My son, for his part, has learned to let it all run off his back (although he often vents to me in very colorful and descriptive terms during his days off), but I hate it that this resident doesn't get called out on his behavior.
Now, this just makes me so sad, and also makes me want to throw up. :barf01:
I remember this topic coming up in school when we were talking about how some patients would prefer not to have a male care for them.
I've seen the male issue 'in real life,' but never the race issue so far.
I remember in the discussion though it was said that a request like that shouldn't be honored and the patient should be respectfully told NO.
However, I agree with the poster who said it would be best to give into their request only for the sake of the staff. If it were just impossible to honor their request then it would be another story. Otherwise, I would never want to make a staff member (male, black, obese, homosexual or whatever) have to work with/for someone they know doesn't want them to.
Some women have been raped, and having to be vulnerable and depending on a male for physical care and personal hygeine might not only be uncomfortable, but trigger flashbacks for them. It has nothing to do with skin color, and everything to do with a traumatic experience and not being able to trust males in terms of depending on them for all- and very intimate- care.
What if this woman was raped by a black man and stated she didn't want to have a black nurse. Should she have that right without announcing to the entire hospital staff it is because she had been raped by a black man in her past? Or should we just accept some people have preferences? Some women will only see a female OB/GYN, others want male only. I am pretty certain many women would also prefer an OB/GYN to be the same race they are.
What if this woman was raped by a black man and stated she didn't want to have a black nurse. Should she have that right without announcing to the entire hospital staff it is because she had been raped by a black man in her past? Or should we just accept some people have preferences? Some women will only see a female OB/GYN, others want male only. I am pretty certain many women would also prefer an OB/GYN to be the same race they are.
No one that I've ever heard of. If they feel this way about an ob/gyn, they probably don't want any healthcare professional of a different race taking care of them, I would suspect.
my ob/gyn is a black male built like the former college linebacker that he was and a man matching dr. ___'s
general physical description tried to rape me when i was a grad student. i was saved by my air raid siren-like scream. campus police came just in time.
according to some theories i've heard through the years, i should be afraid of my ob/gyn but my brain doesn't
HM-8404, BSN, RN
319 Posts
I have a question. Why is it despicable for a patient to prefer a nurse of a certain color but it is defended if a female patient does not want a male nurse?