Racism In Nursing

What is Racism?

What is Racism?

Racism can happen everywhere, be it in classrooms, shopping malls, side streets and work places. How does it affect people? Do people have the right to make such racist remarks on others? What really is Racism? According to Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups. It is also a belief that genetic traits determine an individuals character, personality, attitude and capabilities. During Nurse assistant training program, they learn how to deal with this social problem amicably.

Racism in Nursing

Racist remarks such as, I do not want you to take care of me because you are not good and are not from my race or I do not like working with her because of her skin color still happens in the present time. In one article by Diana Grant-Mackie, Combating racism in nursing (2006), she stated some real life examples. According to her, she always remembers her Pacific nursing friend saying, "My biggest hurt was when someone flicked my nursing badge with her finger and asked me why I was wearing that. I answered that I had earned it and it had been hard work!" In addition, even nurses with higher education such as with doctoral degrees would not escape this dreadful situation. Diana Grant-Mackie also mentioned in her article about her visit to the UK. There was a Jamaican nurse with a PhD and considerable expertise in sickle cell anemia who told her that she could not progress beyond her junior lecturer position nor could she get a clinical post in her specialty.

Issues on racism in nursing will always be present as it is encountered by different nurses from various races. Hard as it may seem, it still happens in Best Nursing Programs and nursing facilities, hospitals and even at home where people are being taken cared of by private nurses. Racism does not choose. Whether you have gone through vocational nursing programs to be a Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed Vocational Nurse / Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse, Charged Nurse or even the Director of Nursing, you can still be a victim of this crime. It is a crime because it degrades a nurses dignity, culture, ethnicity and character. Moreover, it could affect the way nurses perform their job if they are too sensitive regarding the matter. With this, there will certainly be low quality of care to patients and nursing care will be compromised.

How to deal with it?

There are many ways in vocational nursing on how to deal with racism in nursing. It is proper to report to your nursing supervisor or the management regarding any racist comments made by patients and co-workers. For example, if all else fails and the situation can not be dealt with, it is just right for the nurse to request for transfer to another unit or to be reassigned in order to avoid conflicts with the patient.

It is very important for social or vocational nursing facilities and hospitals to create bias-free workplaces. It is the responsibility of the management as well as the nurses to know their rights to protect themselves from racist acts and discrimination. They must be knowledgeable that there are laws such as the Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 that guards against employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion. According to this Act, it is against the law to discriminate applicants and employees on the basis of race when it comes to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job training or any other term, condition or privilege of employment.

Nurses could also file their complaints on racism with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov)

by: Corwin Smith

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