Racial discrimination in Nursing....

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone..I just wish to know if there is some truth to this..well, some of my friends who are now in U.S.A. have talked to us here in the Philippines about some racial problems. When she arrived at Manhattan, she was given a lot of assignments in her area..which she did not mind at all at first. But, there came a time..that she wanted to question herself on why other american nurses are'nt as busy as her..or she has to forego lunch and dinner just to see to it that she has done her duty well...compared to others..who can really smile around and rub elbows with other nurses. She is one of the best nurses we have here..and she can speak the English language well.

She went to the point of really pouring out herself to a friend she had and was there really a great flood of tears.:scrying:

So..may I ask anyone? ..Who do you think really originated in this land of milk and honey? Aren't most of you now in the U.S. also were once from other nations too/? or maybe trace up your ancestors....I hope all nurses will protect nurses and love nurses..be they be black, white, red, yellow or brown. In this way, we stand up in our profession as One.

I don't care what color a nurse is. I only want the nurse to be albe to do the job and communicte with me on an understandable level. Language is not an issue here yet.

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QED---what does it mean??

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Specializes in Case Manager, LTC,Staff Dev/NAT Instr.
Just stopped by to see what all the drama was about, and came to this conclusion at the end. I wrote this poem at the spur of a moment to post my sentiments towards prejudice in the world...nursing or any other walk of life:

Red and yellow

Black and white

All are precious in Jesus sight

No one is better than another

Mother, father, sister, brother

All come from one Creator

One day we'll know this to be fact

So it's best to join together as one

As for me...my love for mankind is never an act

Yes, I see your outer appearance

My eyes still have a little vision...so I'm able to see

That mankind often tends to judge another

Based on color, race, and past history

Close your eyes, and try to see

Inside the heart of those around you

And your true intentions towards another

Perhaps will take on a different view. :kiss

Love this:)

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Specializes in Case Manager, LTC,Staff Dev/NAT Instr.
being an african-american (for 41 years) i've experienced racism in nursing and outside of nursing. i've had patients call me the "n" word, been spit on and other insults. i've had both good and bad experiences with philipino, german, american nurses, etc. guess it all depends on how or if you let it get to you.

my thoughts exactly:)

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Sanchai, I have to agree with gwenith, your Filipino co-nurses in the facility I work in are doing your country proud. We just got five Filipino nurses and three have passed the NCLEX and are just awesome. They are a very welcome addition to "my" staff.

hello! how are you! i'm a nurse from the philippines, 26 yrs. old, female, married with two kids, working in a medical-surgical area for three years. my agency said my probable date of arriving in florida will be by january or february. the processing of my immigrant visa is not done yet.i'm excited and anxious at the same time. it makes me scared thinking about being far from home for the first time, being away from family for the first time. my god it's not easy. add to that i have to deal with a new culture, new colleagues, new working environment and working conditions. i just pray that people i work with would be sympathetic, helpful and supportive. i just want to grow and learn more as a nurse. i just want to have a better quality of life. how are filipino nurses doing there? i'm just wondering. i have a lot of questions that yet to be answered when i arrive there. meanwhile, i'm studying for the nclex.

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That was a real long thread and I do understand how one could be pissed off hearing somebody else beside you talking in another language and of course you get a little paranoid thinking they are talking about you..I apologize for my fellow Filipinos. it just happen that there are really some times that we get tired of having a long day speaking in english. lol. :)

I hope i will not stumble on being discriminated..I have been working here for only 3 months and I could say my co-workers accepted me regardless of my race. My preceptor recognized the sacrifices a Filipino has to make, to make it here..leaving the family behind..the weather and the language barrier. I understand her when she added that she gets pissed off that the hospital has to hire foreign nurses and we are actually taking away jobs from citizens here. I was not at all offended bec it is true. But we cannot forget the fact that we are augmenting the shortage. That is another story...

As a Filipino I always keep in mind that in one way or another I am representing my country and I should be professional and flexible. Besides it is me who decided to move here so might as well accept the consequences and when it gets hotter in the kitchen why not leave...

ILIANG,i understand how you are feeling. i'm a nurse from the philippines, 26 yrs old, married with two kids. my agency told me my probable date of arriving in florida will be by january or february next year. i'm kind of anxious and excited at the same time. i'm scared to be in a far away country, being away from family for the first time, dealing with new colleagues, working in a new environment, and so on and on. the sacrifices filipino nurses make are so great. it is not easy. we just want a better quality of life. so how's your life going there? is it fine so far? what is your advice for incoming nurses?

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So, it is allowable for someone to make a blanket, antagonistic statement like "America is the most racist country in the world" but not OK for someone to voice their opinion that if she doesn't like here she can leave or that when she makes that statement she is spewing garbage? Is it that freedom of speech only applies to certain people and others can keep their opinions to themselves?

Sorry, it doesn't work like that.

You are right. You either believe in free speech or you don't.

I took offense at the OP's post. I got the impression that she was insinuating that American (white) nurses don't work while the Philipino nurses carry the load. Being a white FAT southern nurse who has known many times what it is like to do without lunch and to face an overwhelming amount of work, I was pretty :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire to read that.

I can sympathize with someone who is a minority feeling intimidated being surrounded by people who are "different" but at the same time I think it's too easy to cry out racism when things aren't going well.

Where I work we have one minority, a black RN who happens to also be about 100 pounds overweight. She gets called "Mammy" by some of the residents (affectionately) these older white southerners have not known it was bad to refer to a black person as a "ni**er". She could go crying racism but she takes it in stride and for what it's worth. She laughs it off and is always smiling, and the patients love her. None of the white nurses tried to tear her to shreds, they were thrilled to have her.

From what I have seen, FAT people are the most discriminated against minority in the United States. I have been turned away for jobs without even an interview because I was fat. They would come out and see me (before I got into nursing) and say..."Oops, sorry the job is all filled up." Of course, I couldn't "prove" they were lying without a lot of trouble, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.:uhoh3:

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Teshiee, exactly how many countries have you been in? Not counting the USA, I've been in 13 different countries on 4 different continents. Most of these countries I have lived in for months to years. I can state without reservation that Americans, in general, are some of the LEAST racist people on the planet. Yeah there are exceptions to the rule, there always is. Overall, our society goes to greater lengths to accomodate a wider variety of peoples than any other country on the planet.

But hey, you are not forced to live here. If you find Americans so racist and distasteful, you are free to leave. Go find yourself a more enlightend, less racist country to live in. The Nursing shortage is supposed to be world wide. Travel and see the world! Once you've done that, come back and see if the USA is quite as racist as you think it is now.

Ditto! I was wondering if this person had traveled as well, look at Africa, Palestine and the middle east...Ireland...etc etc etc.....

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

What is interesting to note from reading the above posts is that regardless what race a person belongs to...majority or minority...he/she can become racist when he/she "uses" his/her race as a means to "overpower" or "put down" a different race. Just like a man or a woman can be sexist, a man or a woman can be racist too. There are degrees in all of this, of course. Racism can be blatant or it can be subtle. Some may disagree with this. But, consider this. On a more personal level, if you "use your race" "to disadvantage a person of a different race", you are being racist...pure and simple.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, ER, Psych.

Having spent the last hour or more on this thread just reading, I think it all comes down to whether a person has that victim mentality or not. If you think you are a victim of life, or a potential victim, then you will be offended and looking for reasons to be offended by racism or sexism or whatever the -ism of the month is among the PC crowd these days.

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Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
Having spent the last hour or more on this thread just reading, I think it all comes down to whether a person has that victim mentality or not. If you think you are a victim of life, or a potential victim, then you will be offended and looking for reasons to be offended by racism or sexism or whatever the -ism of the month is among the PC crowd these days.

I don't believe we can generalise so readily. There may elements of this around, but we cannot ignore the fact that racism, sexism, homophobia etc. DO exist. The African-American nurse who says she's been called the 'n' word - that's not the recipient's "victim mentalitiy" - that's for real racism and how could you not be offended?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I don't believe we can generalise so readily. There may elements of this around, but we cannot ignore the fact that racism, sexism, homophobia etc. DO exist. The African-American nurse who says she's been called the 'n' word - that's not the recipient's "victim mentalitiy" - that's for real racism and how could you not be offended?

right on......I believe many choose not be victimized and try to stand up for their rights. But to deny racism, homophobia and crimes against people in the name of these do not exist, is a lie.

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