Posted on Jun 14, 2023
Racism, discrimination prevalent in nursing, new survey shows
840
145
16
9
9
0
A new survey of 900 nurses found that about 80% of nurses have experienced or seen racist treatment by patients, and 60% have experienced or seen it by colleagues. Few nurses ever report these incidents though.
Our editorial partners at STAT spoke with a number of nurses about their own experience with racism in the profession, about what efforts there are to end it and whether those efforts are working.
Usha Lee McFarling, a national science correspondent for STAT, talks to host Scott Tong about the findings.
Our editorial partners at STAT spoke with a number of nurses about their own experience with racism in the profession, about what efforts there are to end it and whether those efforts are working.
Usha Lee McFarling, a national science correspondent for STAT, talks to host Scott Tong about the findings.
Racism, discrimination prevalent in nursing, new survey shows
Posted from wbur.org
Racism
Medical
Health
Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 10
18
18
0
I have been in nursing since 1974, coming up on 50 years. I have dealt with clients of all races and nationalities and have never experienced racism or discrimination. That includes the large prison populations one of the hospitals I worked in.
(18)
(0)
SFC John D.
I'm always skeptical about the accuracy of surveys like this when it relies upon someone's interpretation of WHY something was done without any additional information. Some is pretty clear cut - if you were called a racial slur, that's a pretty good slam dunk on something being based on a nurse’s race/ethnicity. However, if you're insulted ("You're a dumb idiot and I don't know how you got a job here!") is that because the person saying that is an a-hole or is it because of your race/ethnicity.
I remember seeing a report from a group talking about the increase in hate crimes against Chinese early in the COVID pandemic. When I looked into the database at the actual incident, a great many weren't "hate crimes" and instead behavior that by itself was 'rude' but it was the person's interpretation of why that behavior happened that made it a 'hate crime' according to the report.
For example, there was one 'hate crime' reported that a person with Chinese ethnicity was approach someone else in a hallway and that person moved against the wall so they could be as far away from them as possible when they passed by. Do you think that it's possible they did that because they were constantly being bombarded that if you got within six feet of someone else you were going to contract COVID and die? However, because the person viewed the actions as racist against them (regardless if they were or weren't), they were counted as such.
I searched high and low for any of the actual questions and if there was additional data behind them other than "I think it was racist, so that means it is" and the only things shown are the questions at the bottom of the slides in the report.
Another issue is sloppy survey methods that they take a statistic from a question like "Have you seen or experienced racism or discrimination based on a nurse’s race or ethnicity from" (patients or colleges) and make it a general statement (again, assuming it's accurate and not a perception of racism because someone had bad behavior). so "have you every experienced racism from a patient during your career?" is portrayed as a "Patients are racist! 79% of Nurses say so!"
Is there racism? I'm sure there is and that many have been subjected to it. But looking at the other surveys the NORC at the University of Chicago, it seems that many share a common theme - very subjective surveys that have little transparency that 'prove' a predetermined outcome (You didn't thing the RWJF Organization which is focused on "addressing barriers to health caused by structural racism and its intersection with other discrimination.." would have a study that didn't show rampant racism, did you).
https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/rwjf473632.pdf
I remember seeing a report from a group talking about the increase in hate crimes against Chinese early in the COVID pandemic. When I looked into the database at the actual incident, a great many weren't "hate crimes" and instead behavior that by itself was 'rude' but it was the person's interpretation of why that behavior happened that made it a 'hate crime' according to the report.
For example, there was one 'hate crime' reported that a person with Chinese ethnicity was approach someone else in a hallway and that person moved against the wall so they could be as far away from them as possible when they passed by. Do you think that it's possible they did that because they were constantly being bombarded that if you got within six feet of someone else you were going to contract COVID and die? However, because the person viewed the actions as racist against them (regardless if they were or weren't), they were counted as such.
I searched high and low for any of the actual questions and if there was additional data behind them other than "I think it was racist, so that means it is" and the only things shown are the questions at the bottom of the slides in the report.
Another issue is sloppy survey methods that they take a statistic from a question like "Have you seen or experienced racism or discrimination based on a nurse’s race or ethnicity from" (patients or colleges) and make it a general statement (again, assuming it's accurate and not a perception of racism because someone had bad behavior). so "have you every experienced racism from a patient during your career?" is portrayed as a "Patients are racist! 79% of Nurses say so!"
Is there racism? I'm sure there is and that many have been subjected to it. But looking at the other surveys the NORC at the University of Chicago, it seems that many share a common theme - very subjective surveys that have little transparency that 'prove' a predetermined outcome (You didn't thing the RWJF Organization which is focused on "addressing barriers to health caused by structural racism and its intersection with other discrimination.." would have a study that didn't show rampant racism, did you).
https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/rwjf473632.pdf
(13)
(0)
LTC Trent Klug
Thank you for posting. I do have to say inmates control themselves much more in a hospital setting than at prison.
As a staff member, I was never called anything but 'boss', Mister Klug, or Klug. But man the things I heard and saw between inmates or groups of inmates! Boy howdy!
As a staff member, I was never called anything but 'boss', Mister Klug, or Klug. But man the things I heard and saw between inmates or groups of inmates! Boy howdy!
(3)
(0)
17
17
0
My daughter deals with at least one incident per week. She was told by an African American patient recently that she wanted a black nurse instead of her and she wanted a black doctor. Well my daughter told her you don't have achoice in who cares for you in the ER so sit down and let me take care of you. Then she started callingmy daughter a white supremacist racist bitch. But my daughter never waivered and continued taking care of her. It happens but let me tell you this...if I am in an ER I don't care what race, creed, religion, or whatever you are...I am assuming you are credentialed or you would not be there. Get me better and get me out.
(17)
(0)
14
14
0
Why in the dickens would you as a patient make any kind of racist actions on the person trying to help you?
(14)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google