Is There Really Racism in Nursing?

Abstract

Nurses have long been aware of the array of cultural differences within society and how those differences impact health care delivery. One of the corporate buzzwords of the decade is diversity. Does nursing with all of its experience in managing various ethnic variances truly embrace this concept as a professional value? Or does the sociological trend of white female domination of the profession lend a hand to racism? Could there really be racism in nursing? Racism in nursing is examined from a historical, professional, and personal perspective to analyze the relevance of this timely issue to educators within the profession.

White dominance in nursing education: A target for anti‐racist efforts

“…Race has been designated a social construct since the 1950s (UNESCO, 1952, as cited in Blanchet Garneau et al., 2018) and yet race continues to be represented in health research and publications as a valid and biologically significant category (Allen, 2006; Gustafson, 2007). In the reviewed literature, disease processes and affinity (see Baxter, 1998; Vaughan, 1997) and altered pharmaceutical metabolism (see Montenery, Jones, Perry, Ross, & Zoucha, 2013) are attributed to racial or ethnic categories of people. A further example from the literature at large is in an article about intersectionality and LGBT cancer patients (see Damaskos, Amaya, Gordon, & Walters, 2018).…”

“…The climate in nursing schools is presented in this body of literature as isolating, discriminatory and unsupportive towards staff, faculty and students that are racialized (Baxter, 1998; Cortis & Law, 2005; Hassouneh, 2006, 2013; Schroeder & DiAngelo, 2010) which leads to poorer recruitment and retention, poorer performance and significant racial stress and ill‐health (Abrums et al., 2010; Alleyne et al., 1994; Beard & Julion, 2016; Cortis & Law, 2005; Schroeder & DiAngelo, 2010; Vaughan, 1997). White, Eurocentric, raciological thinking promotes a deficit appraisal of people from outside of the normative categories (Beard, 2016; Beard & Julion, 2016; Van Herk et al., 2011; Hilario, Browne, & McFadden, 2018; Scammell & Olumide, 2012; Thorne, 2017; Vaughan, 1997). The education and cognitive capacity of internationally trained nurses and nursing faculty is frequently under question (Scammell & Olumide, 2012).…”

“…Nursing and nursing education operate within the social and political contexts of institutions of higher education and healthcare in colonial countries with racial beliefs as organizing principles (Puzan, 2003). Nurses in Anglo‐colonized countries are predominantly white people (Abrums, Resnick, & Irving, 2010; Beard, 2016; Cortis & Law, 2005; Hassouneh, 2013; Schroeder & DiAngelo, 2010), and the nursing profession is stratified along racial lines, with white people occupying more of the stable and valued clinical positions, and more leadership positions in all nursing sites (Alleyne, Papadopolous, & Tilki, 1994; Cortis & Law, 2005; Grant‐Mackie, 2006; Gustafson, 2007; Van Herk et al., 2011; Scammell & Olumide, 2012; Schroeder & DiAngelo, 2010; Vaughan, 1997). This normalized dominance gives white nurses the privilege of identifying with their professional role without necessarily acknowledging their role in a racial hierarchy (Van Herk et al., 2011).…”

“…The American Association of Critical Care nurses claims that 'as nurses we provide care that respects the inherent dignity of every person, without prejudice' (AACN, 2020) and yet overt examples of racial violence in healthcare and higher education are reaching, and shocking, the public, such as the blood alcohol content game allegedly played by emergency nurses and doctors in Victoria, BC (Schmunk, 2020, see also #blackintheivory on Twitter). In a profession bound in practice by a code of ethics with the claim of having a social justice ethos, reaching an understanding of the true racial climate of nursing can be startling (Markey & Tilki, 2007;Vaughan, 1997;Xu, 2008) despite narratives of discrimination and violence, and scholarship and scientific data supporting claims of differential treatment long-existing in the public domain. It is argued that the caring identity and genuine desire of people who become nurses to be helpful obfuscates the reality that nurses do not operate in their professional role in isolation of their socialization, their socioeconomic and political contexts, nor of their identities as racialized or non-racialized beings (Hassouneh, 2006;Van Herk, Smith, & Andrew, 2011;McGibbon & Etowa, 2009;Schroeder & DiAngelo, 2010).…”

Understanding Race and Racism in Nursing: Insights from Aboriginal Nurses

“…Several studies have examined the experiences of Aboriginal and minority nurses in Canada, Britain, and the United States ([ 10 – 20 ]). However, as Kulig and Grypma [ 21 ] note very little has been written about the history of Aboriginal nurses and despite their role in improving the health status of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis, very little research exists that explores the perspectives of Aboriginal nurses themselves.…”