When staff accuse resident's of being racist?

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It was reported to me recently that one of my staff has voiced concern in more than one instance of resident's on their unit being racist. Now mind you this is a special care unit with dementia and Alzheimer's residents. My immediate thoughts on this matter is that the staff member is most likely not suitable to work on this unit. Yes, perhaps remedial training may be benificial, but not likely as this staff member has been there for more than a year. Management team members have said, "Employees have rights too." Yes, this is true, but we all must remember the type of resident we are caring of in this instance. I am very new to my position and have continuely encountered instances of the absence of training which I'm sure I can correct in time. For now I need an immediate resolution to this particular issue. What say you all?

Specializes in High Risk In Patient OB/GYN.

Well, there is a school of thought that RACISM=POWER+PREJUDICE (not just prejudice) and therefore in America only white people can truly be racist, as they continue to hold the majority socio-political power.

And so, if you subscribe to this definition, black and brown people cannot be racist. Prejudice, yes. But not racist.

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Specializes in acute medical.

I haven't caught on as to whether the resident has dementia. If they do, I believe they say things that prior to their condition commencing they would not say. And their confusion wouldn't help either. It doesn't help the person being verbally abused, intended or no. Perhaps the solution would be to ask the affected staff member what they consider the best course of action should be? And perhaps a long term solution would be to involve the whole staff in developing a policy to help both staff, clients and families to deal with this problem, which is bound to represent in the future.

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Specializes in EC, IMU, LTAC.

Have any of you experienced this? That the prejudiced racist people are not all white?

Oh dear lord yes. I am half white, half Japanese. When I was 11, a guy called me J*p, Ch*nk, g*ok, etc, every day while making slanty eyes. One day, I looked him in the eye and told him that him calling me those names were like someone calling him a n*gger. He freaked, told everybody that I was racist, and even went to the principal. The principal saw right through him and saw the hipocrisy of the situation, but word got around that I had called him the N word, which horrified everyone. Pot, kettle... Why is it that you're only racist if you say the N word? I was the only Asian in my school, which was hell.

I worked in a nursing home that was 95% black. It was hell. From the beginning, I knew that I did not belong. The manager was just like the women you described. She hated everyone who wasn't African-American. I remember her encouraging the rest of the staff to gang up on this sweet Nigerian lady who brought up the point that nobody would help her except me when it came to lifting. That was painful to watch. Also ostracized were Jamaicans, whites, and "blacks that acted white." My turn came next. I was new, and the staff decided that they would ostracize, "That uppity little whitey." I reported the behavior, only to have them called in, encouraged to gang up on me, and had me further ostracized. The manager actually told them to ignore me if I asked for help. She let the black staff do as they pleased, didn't bother with things like rules, but wrote anybody else up for the slightest things. I turned in my two weeks notice, only to be terminated early because I was ratted out by a CNA for something I didn't do (this was the same CNA who talked on her cell phone all shift). This wasn't my imagination either. When word got around that I was quitting, i got a lot of sympathy from the nice staff, saying, "They never give you white girls a chance."

That manager reminds me of Elie Wiesel. He survived the concentration camps, and was telling his experiences to a Rabbi. Weisel told the Rabbi that he wanted to torture the Nazis for all they had done to him, to make them suffer as he had. The Rabbi quietly said, "I see, you have become one of them." That was Weisel's turning point. I wish that more people would realize that they embody that which they hate so much.

Racists are everywhere, and they love being victims. When I was in China, I got some flack for being Japanese becuase of the Rape of Nanjing.

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I have had training in Alzheimers unit as an aide and even as a nurse. I don't remember it being mentioned that racist slurs were the norm of these types of residents. It just all depends on what the resident did in their lifetimes. Like we have a former preacher who has Alzheimers and he constantly walks around holding sermons. Training does not stop being offended. Just reassign the aide and call it a day.

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Specializes in acute medical.
Well, the aide definitely needs to know that her patients are sick and that sick people might not always be polite. She needs to toughen her skin a little and not take offense so readily.

I think she should get into the habit of gently, very gently, courteously letting the offenders know that their words really are painful for her to hear. .

I agree with the latter, but I really think that support should be there for both carer as well as resident, so that the former can care for the latter more confidently. Telling her to not take offence so readily does not look at the reason as to why she takes offense, and if she is good at her job, perhaps some sort of conflict resolution should be tried first...

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Point one-Racism means disliking someone simply because they are of a different race...much like sexism and ageism. If you discriminate solely on that basis, you are a racist no matter what your skin color is.

Point two---conflict resolution???With a demented person??? Won't work..their reality is their reality. I've been called every name in the book by residents...some demented, some not. The ones who weren't demented were politely told never to speak to me in that manner again. The demented ones were ignored....I don't like alcoholics but I have to take care of them...I don't like fat women who whine but I have to take care of them...we meet all sorts of people in this profession and WE must be the ones to rise above all the name calling and just get our jobs done.

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When I worked in LTC we had a resident who was 100 years old, and from Texas, who was very outspoken when the facility hired a black CNA. She used the 'N' word and refused to have that aide care for her. She was one of those crotchety old ladies that outlived everyone because she was meaner than anyone else, I think.

Obviously, mean cranky racists get old too, and lose what ever inhibitions they once possessed. It's very embarrassing for all concerned.

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from websters online:

main entry: rac-ism

pronunciation: 'ra-"si-z&m also -"shi-

function: noun

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

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Specializes in acute medical.

Like I said, I was unsure as to whether the person was demented. I still think support should be provided for the carer. The decision to move on should be in consultation with the carer, not just automatically doing it. by finding out the reasons why they have difficulties. Strategies that the carer may find useful in order to do their work may be "nutted out" and used with effect. If they don't work maybe then the carer may have to try something else. That is what I mean by conflict resolution, if the patient can't be involved in the process. It should not be a matter of moving the carer on without giving them a chance...

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Point one-Racism means disliking someone simply because they are of a different race...much like sexism and ageism. If you discriminate solely on that basis, you are a racist no matter what your skin color is.

Point two---conflict resolution???With a demented person??? Won't work..their reality is their reality. I've been called every name in the book by residents...some demented, some not. The ones who weren't demented were politely told never to speak to me in that manner again. The demented ones were ignored....I don't like alcoholics but I have to take care of them...I don't like fat women who whine but I have to take care of them...we meet all sorts of people in this profession and WE must be the ones to rise above all the name calling and just get our jobs done.

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: I agree with you Capecod, and you said it very well - I also don't like the heavy whiners, but I go out of my way to be kind to them.

I still would never willingingly assign someone to an old racist that is going to make their shift hell - maybe the old person IS demented - but why should that aide have to listen to that all shift?

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