Why are culturally stereotypical behaviors so tolerated?

[mclennan]

At a new job and once again I am seeing, seemingly for the umpteenth time, some very negative, destructive and disruptive behavior being displayed by a predominantly representative cultural group.

Before you all jump down my throat screaming racism, let's be real here. I'm well aware *anyone* is capable of negative behavior. I'm well aware all groups, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, what-have-you, have their weaknesses and foibles. I am a member of a marginalized ethnic group myself. I'm not a bigot. I'm not intolerant or anti-immigrant. I'm a big fat brown leftist. I love the melting pot and the rainbow coalition as much as any dumb liberal, I am not special.

But why....WHY do I consistently see the same group of people seemingly causing so much trouble and heartache in the nursing profession? Over and over I see it demonstrated again, across environments and specialties. For years!!! The drama. The soap operas. The back stabbing. The trash talking. The secrets. The cliques. The passive aggressiveness. The insults. The mind games. The personality conflicts. The abuse of power. The speaking of languages other than English in front of co-workers, patients and families who don't understand. The rudeness!!!!

And this is from people who are intelligent, educated and articulate citizens of society!

I am fed up with how pervasive this behavior has become. It has become so commonplace that the detrimental affects of it are now just accepted, tolerated.....and in some workplaces......embraced........

Don't people see what stereotypes they are? Is there no reflection? Why is this so difficult to talk about without it erupting into emotional and accusatory conflict?

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

There are native speaking English people, who depending on geographical area and using slang, one can't understand either. Heavy accents to boot.

The melting pot boils over in a lot of different ways.

You have people from the North thinking people from the South are "rednecks". Jamaican people who talk down to American born people of color. You have 2 areas of Ireland where there's some animosity, and they speak down to each other. You have Brazilian Portuguese people who are tired of everyone assuming that they are Spanish, and start speaking Spanish to them. You have Filipino people who come to America and have never, ever spoken a word of English. Only when Americans go to countries to "immerse" themselves in the Spanish language that is OK. I have had patients call people "kiwis", you never use the word "clot" with some ethnic groups, and when you just know "si" and "Hola" you can see a Spanish speaking patient cringe (or a Brazilian patient, as apparently, we think that EVERYONE who has a South American heritage is Spanish.) People speak in strange ways when describing people who are gay. People speak in strange ways when they are describing people who they feel are superior or inferior acting. When one does this in their personal life is childish and rude. If one is participating in this at a place of business, it should not be tolerated. Period.

So the bottom line is--and as a pp suggested, conversations that are had in an alternate language or in a way that I do not understand that is none of my business, have at it then. Until such time as a manager makes it clear that personal conversations are for the break room. If you are having these conversations or any conversation in front of patients that doesn't concern their plan of care, it is wrong. To not use the language that the patient understands when caring for them is wrong.

We could go a million ways on people who exclusify themselves at the expense of others. And it is not just one ethnic group, it is many. There's more than one American business that uses marketing to discuss American made, that English as first language people answer their phones, etc. There's also more than one business that glorifies in their marketing the fact that they use all sorts of various translators. Patients have the right to be "in" on any communication that is had in front of them, regardless of the language that the patient speaks. Actually, it is in most patient Bill of Rights in most facilities.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Ok fine. I'll do it. And please understand that I did not create this term but in my geographical area (and the OP is in CA where I believe the situation is similar), this is used to describe nurses who are Filipino.

Thank you for providing clarity, because I truly had NO idea.

I've only worked with 2 or 3 Filipino nurses, at my last inpatient L&D job. They were all incredibly lovely, friendly and gracious.

[joyouter]

I get what OP is saying, though. It's hard to be in the "out-group". When you don't know the language, culturally determined behaviors that establish status, non-verbal signals, and so on, it's hard to function.

But, in my view, the conflict isn't really about "professionalism" vs. "cultural stereotypes". It's about whose cultural stereotypes will control a given workplace and how does the out-group cope with that. Who has to adapt to whom?

In other words, it pretty much sucks to be in the minority.

My best advice is to be as courteous as you know how and stay focused on the work. The cliche is "Be the change you want to see happen." Learn as much as you can about the cliques, especially what's polite, what's rude and how to avoid offending. Find those in the in-group whom you respect and figure out how to earn theirs so you can work together with less tension. Keep as far away as possible from house politics.

You may or may not be able to change the dominant culture at your facility, if that's your goal. It's up to you to decide which hill you're willing to die on.

The original post addresses the very strong negative behaviors which re-occur daily. Human relations are always an unknown paradigm. perhaps signaled by the root suspicion and innate fear of not being accepted, being misunderstood ( deliberately or otherwise) - all of which can be possibly related to our human ancestors -thousands of years ago, when newcomers were perceived as a threat. As a so -called advanced society, most of us learn how to dodge bullets ( real and imagined) and to act as responsible professionals with dignity and pride in our practice.

Many of the above negative behaviors are not addressed because as nurses we are totally focused on being accountable in our actions delivering safe, legal quality care. The aspect of bullying is really the undercurrent being discussed and has pervaded nursing for many decades. It is the most destructive, immoral behavior and does nothing to maintain professionalism, rather it blocks and blinds those who are bullying and promotes fear and high levels of anxiety in the victims. Cultural groups have always ganged up on those who are less represented. Nursing research, nurse managers have never been able to address this phenomenon and the denial and inability to address it further feeds this vicious cycle. . Is it induced by the very fact that caregivers are not taught to self care to be able to cope with almost inhuman stress occurring in healthcare today- nursing is about giving care, but does not address the emotional drain from constant giving and caring for others. From another perspective, can we ask if this behavior stems from a deficit in learning or fear of openly acknowledging this painful process at levels top down throughout the nursing ranks..

It must also be remembered that those who bully usually align with others with similar deficits in cognitive behavior and weak egos - which results in a self feeding process spiraling out of control. Why is it globally that there is such a nursing shortage today. Bullying in any form from despotic dictators to the nurse working with patient care, all have similar outcomes, tragic loss of personnel, of life at times and loss of practiced skillful professionals who refuse to be part of a dysfunctional group.

Questions of culture and language within a limited group become weapons of power to reinforce a sense of power in any particular ethnic group, often preceived rather than real.. . The over arching question is how can it be addressed and will it be addressed. Can nursing education actually develop a course for nurses to assist in defusing such behavior presenting evidence as to why it occurs and how it can be addressed through self reflection. Can nurse managers be better trained in conflict recognition and resolution with specalist support. Confluct among human beings will always exist in varying degrees. With that in mind, nursing professionals are challenged to find a better way.

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

For the record, dealing with this is nothing new for me. I've been dealing with it my entire 8 years in nursing in SoCal. I've seen the issues brought to management, I've seen it fought alone and fought as a group, I've seen it go thru due process, I've seen every permutation of every situation of this conflict you can probably imagine. This group is not the minority. Most often the management is also of this group. I have spoken with a friend of the same ethnicity who shrugged and said "it's the culture. That's just the way we are."

I only posted this because I am newly employed at what I thought was a relatively "enlightened" company that seems modern and innovative and different in many ways; and I was hoping this same old stereotype maybe didn't exist here or wouldn't be as prevalent. Wrong. This tiresome problem reared its familiar ugly head after a month or two. And it's the same old garbage. I came here to vent. I feel defeated. I'm watching time, resources and talent being wasted and patient care de-prioritized in favor of petty dramas, bickering and high school style clique fights. It's SO. EFFING. DISAPPOINTING.

[Libby1987]

If it's so pervasive, I wonder why hundreds of patients' complaints alone wouldn't have some effect. It makes me think that the demographics of the patients must be changing as well?

As an aside, I live in a primarily white pocket of California with all of the atea major hospitals represented by diverse staffing. I used to have my elderly patients come home complaining about not being able to understand the nurses, now that I think of it, I haven't heard that complaint in ages.

Another ramble, I don't know if this is white guilt speaking or not, but in my life time, being in the white minority in the US even as a female is still hands down an easier walk in life IME than being in an ethnic majority here.

[Libby1987]

For the record, dealing with this is nothing new for me. I've been dealing with it my entire 8 years in nursing in SoCal. I've seen the issues brought to management, I've seen it fought alone and fought as a group, I've seen it go thru due process, I've seen every permutation of every situation of this conflict you can probably imagine. This group is not the minority. Most often the management is also of this group. I have spoken with a friend of the same ethnicity who shrugged and said "it's the culture. That's just the way we are."

I only posted this because I am newly employed at what I thought was a relatively "enlightened" company that seems modern and innovative and different in many ways; and I was hoping this same old stereotype maybe didn't exist here or wouldn't be as prevalent. Wrong. This tiresome problem reared its familiar ugly head after a month or two. And it's the same old garbage. I came here to vent. I feel defeated. I'm watching time, resources and talent being wasted and patient care de-prioritized in favor of petty dramas, bickering and high school style clique fights. It's SO. EFFING. DISAPPOINTING.

From what I've read on this forum, this is happening in hospitals ethnic majority notwithstanding.

[EaglesWings21, ASN, RN]

I work with one Filipino lady on a regular basis and another only a handful of times, but they are thoughtful, kind, and caring. As a matter of fact I have had to get on patients for being mean to this Filipino girl because she is too sweet to tell them differently.

[caliotter3]

For the record, dealing with this is nothing new for me. I've been dealing with it my entire 8 years in nursing in SoCal. I've seen the issues brought to management, I've seen it fought alone and fought as a group, I've seen it go thru due process, I've seen every permutation of every situation of this conflict you can probably imagine. This group is not the minority. Most often the management is also of this group. I have spoken with a friend of the same ethnicity who shrugged and said "it's the culture. That's just the way we are."

I only posted this because I am newly employed at what I thought was a relatively "enlightened" company that seems modern and innovative and different in many ways; and I was hoping this same old stereotype maybe didn't exist here or wouldn't be as prevalent. Wrong. This tiresome problem reared its familiar ugly head after a month or two. And it's the same old garbage. I came here to vent. I feel defeated. I'm watching time, resources and talent being wasted and patient care de-prioritized in favor of petty dramas, bickering and high school style clique fights. It's SO. EFFING. DISAPPOINTING.

I was told one time that, "This is the way nursing is in CA, if you don't like it, you don't need to work as a nurse." Simply put, message conveyed, point taken.

[elkpark]

I was told one time that, "This is the way nursing is in CA, if you don't like it, you don't need to work as a nurse." Simply put, message conveyed, point taken.

Wow -- so the "mafia" term is pretty accurate ...

[caliotter3]

Wow -- so the "mafia" term is pretty accurate ...

It is one thing to have a culture of behavior at a workplace, it is quite another to see people lose their livelihood because they ran afoul of that culture's behavior.

[Libby1987]

My sister works in a Central Valley hospital and I haven't heard anything so terrible as that. Our area hospitals aren't very diverse, California is a big place. I'll be looking for a replacement in the near future..our COL and wages are a lot better than So Cal anyway.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

I worked in an ICU where there were quite a few Fillipino nurses. Most of the time the nurses would speak Tagalog once in awhile and only in the break room, and sometimes during downtime at the desk. These nurses were a great resource for me. I loved working with them.

I am at a different facility now, and one floor on the night shift has quite a few Fillipino nurses and none of them speak Tagalog or if they do they don't speak much of it. Most were born and raised here in the US. So the speaking Tagalog in front of the other staff and patients is a non issue.