Should I leave this racist town?

[ChutneyFries]

My first RN job has lead me to a more rural part of the country. As a person of color, I have never experienced racism to this degree.

Some instances are subtle at work, but some are pretty blatant.

My first experience occurred when my preceptor mentioned repeatedly that I have a "black card" so I must be golden at my new position. (I never questioned her on what she meant.) My preceptor also mentioned things like "since you are black things will get stolen from you." Phrases like 'slave driver' have also repeatedly been mentioned in passing with my preceptor. Since I was on orientation, I let a lot of comments go and ignored them, due to fear of being let go or retaliation.

Now, the worst thing is that I have noted on several occasions, confederate flags waving from behind pick up trucks.

I'm not sure if I can stick it out for over a year in this place. What would you do?

[ChutneyFries, BSN, RN]

DO not wait a year. I left a job after 5 months and I got another job. Just tell your new employer that it was not a good fit, not a job you are looking for and you love their hospital more etc. There are a lot of good, positive reasons who can focus on without having to tell the negativity of your last job during your interview.

Thanks for your reply! I think that it's going to be alright! I've been feeling lots better about leaving. Already receiving calls back! This is pretty amazing! Waiting a year seems like an impossible feat.

[ChutneyFries, BSN, RN]

If I were you I would leave.Why do you need to ask. They will say you are pulling the race card. Your experience says otherwise. I worked with a muslim who was treated differently on the job by some. They would mention 9/11 out of nowhere or saddam hussein anytime this person was around. I would never be in a place that had too much hostility. You can stay and fight, but it does wear on you.

I think for a while I thought it was me making too much of the situation. But, I see now that it's not right. I just can't do this. Safety and mental health have to come first! Thanks for replying!

[Desert Lady]

Fly out of there as quickly as possible. Everything will be your fault which will put you on the defensive. Don't let another word of discrimination pass anyone's lips. Go to Human Resource now and declare this a hostile environment. Stand up for your self. No one else will.

[Doumbia]

Oh god.... I will be a different voice here, but I say LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE, get the hell out of dodge. It sounds absolutely awful.

I would say it sounds like the Southeast, but I live actually in the (supposedly liberal) Pacific NW, and in our rural corner of it, there is plenty of racism to go around, and very little diversity. I am white, my spouse is African and black...and Muslim. Try getting a job in rural white Amurica when you are black, you have an accent, and you have a Muslim name. He just doesn't get called back on jobs, multiple applications. He finally got on and temped at a boatyard, and in the first few weeks, there was a federal hate crime- someone hung a rope noose on a forklift. (FBI defines this sort of harassment as a hate crime, even if there is no direct verbal threat). Meanwhile, the non-diverse communities here like to talk about how there is no racism and we are all so liberal and all.

I say again, get out... don't worry about the flipping resume. Life is too short to live in fear about going to work. The recent success of Trump, and thousands of cheering white Americans when he talked about banning Muslim immigration, and that Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals... well, it's a good reminder that a lot of this country remains extremely racist. Please, take good care of yourself and don't put yourself through this. I've seen my husband walking into a business to drop off a resume, and a bit physically shaky and worried that people will be mean to him. Please take care of yourself. There are so many nursing jobs in better areas. It makes me mad just to hear that you are getting palpitations about going to work. Good luck and let us know how things go, whatever you decide.

[smarge117, ASN, BSN, RN]

I'm so sorry that this is happening to you.

Look for and get another job. Don't worry about staying a year. Life is is way to short to be miserable and unhappy at a job.

[ChutneyFries, BSN, RN]

Oh god.... I will be a different voice here, but I say LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE, get the hell out of dodge. It sounds absolutely awful.

I would say it sounds like the Southeast, but I live actually in the (supposedly liberal) Pacific NW, and in our rural corner of it, there is plenty of racism to go around, and very little diversity. I am white, my spouse is African and black...and Muslim. Try getting a job in rural white Amurica when you are black, you have an accent, and you have a Muslim name. He just doesn't get called back on jobs, multiple applications. He finally got on and temped at a boatyard, and in the first few weeks, there was a federal hate crime- someone hung a rope noose on a forklift. (FBI defines this sort of harassment as a hate crime, even if there is no direct verbal threat). Meanwhile, the non-diverse communities here like to talk about how there is no racism and we are all so liberal and all.

I say again, get out... don't worry about the flipping resume. Life is too short to live in fear about going to work. The recent success of Trump, and thousands of cheering white Americans when he talked about banning Muslim immigration, and that Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals... well, it's a good reminder that a lot of this country remains extremely racist. Please, take good care of yourself and don't put yourself through this. I've seen my husband walking into a business to drop off a resume, and a bit physically shaky and worried that people will be mean to him. Please take care of yourself. There are so many nursing jobs in better areas. It makes me mad just to hear that you are getting palpitations about going to work. Good luck and let us know how things go, whatever you decide.

I'm sorry that your husband is going through that hate as well. That is so scary! It is true that fear can be quite debilitating. I try to focus on helping my pts but some days it's like a ton of bricks.

I surely am getting out! I don't believe that this early exit will be detrimental to my resume. I know it will be just fine. I will give a notice and be professional but leaving is imminent. I wish you and your husband good luck because it can't be easy watching this happen to him. Stay strong!!!

[RN-Doula]

So sorry you have to experience this. You say you feel unsafe, has anyone made a personal threat to you? Have items of yours been vandalized? If so report the incidence to the hospital security, create a paper trail that can be followed. Keep a diary, a blog on line. Write out personal affirmations for your self and say them regularly out loud at home and in your car. NLP works, neuro lingulist programming. When someone says something that makes you uncomfortable, ask them why they said that to you? Call them on it. Ask them why did they become a nurse? Ask them if they like to help others? Ask them if they realize what they said goes against the words and actions of Jesus in the Bible. Tell them you like to do the work of Jesus helping others not able to take care of themselves. In many areas people respond to religious words. Have you found a church to attend? Have you approached other co-workers of the same color?

A personal affirmation is positive words for yourself, such as: Just for today I will walk in with confidence and ask (Jane-fill in your own name) why she doesn't want me to succeed. I will ask Jane would she rather do ALL the work herself, I will ask Jane why she says hurtful statements to me, I will ask Jane to recommend a church for me, I will ask Tom to help me with my skilld since his are so good and I want to learn from him. Remember to butter up their ego also people are human and like to complimented and usually like the person who compliments them.

[ChutneyFries, BSN, RN]

So sorry you have to experience this. You say you feel unsafe, has anyone made a personal threat to you? Have items of yours been vandalized? If so report the incidence to the hospital security, create a paper trail that can be followed. Keep a diary, a blog on line. Write out personal affirmations for your self and say them regularly out loud at home and in your car. NLP works, neuro lingulist programming. When someone says something that makes you uncomfortable, ask them why they said that to you? Call them on it. Ask them why did they become a nurse? Ask them if they like to help others? Ask them if they realize what they said goes against the words and actions of Jesus in the Bible. Tell them you like to do the work of Jesus helping others not able to take care of themselves. In many areas people respond to religious words. Have you found a church to attend? Have you approached other co-workers of the same color?

A personal affirmation is positive words for yourself, such as: Just for today I will walk in with confidence and ask (Jane-fill in your own name) why she doesn't want me to succeed. I will ask Jane would she rather do ALL the work herself, I will ask Jane why she says hurtful statements to me, I will ask Jane to recommend a church for me, I will ask Tom to help me with my skilld since his are so good and I want to learn from him. Remember to butter up their ego also people are human and like to complimented and usually like the person who compliments them.

Thanks for your reply! Every day before going in I do affirmations and prayer. There is one other person of color but it's hard to speak about stuff at work. But it's a good idea to try to reach out to them. One RN I met but she quit because of the same things I'm talking about but she had it way worse than I. Different floor and everything. I think of myself as a very positive person who always lends a hand and try to bring light to the dark. Always trying to be generous with time and words of encouragement. Most of my colleagues appreciate it. Some I have learned to stay away from because they exude negativity and say off the cuff racist and sexist remarks which I can't deal with.

[KT_C]

Think of this job as a way to pay your dues and gain your experience before you can move on to a better job with less racist people! Its dumb to judge people based on their race, we should feel sorry for them

[dec2007]

This shouldn't exist and it certainly shouldn't be tolerated! I live in a fairly rural Midwestern place, and my coworkers would confront anyone who said something so crass and ignorant. Can I ask just generally the part of the country you are in (SE, NW, SW, NE?) I also worked for awhile in the SE, and this would not have been tolerated in my hospital there either! So sorry you have had to deal with such an environment!

[NurseAngie]

I am sorry to this is happening to you. I had a very similar experience in Memphis (my hometown). I was one of three white nurses and the other two left within my first few weeks of employment, so I didn't know them well. I was really sad about the situation because I thought I really wanted to stay local because my family was close by. We ended up leaving Memphis for Middle Tennessee. I did keep documentation after a couple months and one incident that occurred with me was actually caught on video, so HR and management did take action and that offender was terminated. Strange thing is that I did not report it, but it was a co-worker (someone that I thought was friends with the offender) instead. I didn't want to be seen as a tattle-tale, but I really wish I had spoken up for myself in hindsight. Don't be afraid to do what is best for you.

[ChutneyFries, BSN, RN]

This shouldn't exist and it certainly shouldn't be tolerated! I live in a fairly rural Midwestern place, and my coworkers would confront anyone who said something so crass and ignorant. Can I ask just generally the part of the country you are in (SE, NW, SW, NE?) I also worked for awhile in the SE, and this would not have been tolerated in my hospital there either! So sorry you have had to deal with such an environment!

I'm In the NE. It's crazy but soon will have less of this to deal with.