Towards abandoning the master’s tools: The politics of a universal nursing identity

Abstract

He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act… (John Lewis 2020) Reflecting on his learning from Martin Luther King Jr., the late John Lewis (2020) reminded us through his final words that justice and fairness are not a static endpoint. Neither then, is injustice; both conditions require ongoing action to be sustained. A democratic or just experience is one where power is shared amongst the people and all people have unfettered access to the capital and institutions of a society. A truly democratic experience in healthcare would see equality in access to the range of healthcare services humans need to not only survive but also thrive. A just experience in healthcare would see equitable provision of healthcare services unequivocally committed to redressing the gap in health outcomes between the societally privileged and people with racialized or otherwise marginalized identities. Even in this remarkable moment of the global COVID-19 pandemic where healthcare workers around the world

Philanthropic Foundations' Discourse and Nursing's Future: Part II

“…49(p2) Whether this "professional project" is a worthwhile endeavor has been an ongoing subject of discussion. 49,50 For us, the deafening silence in nursing with respect to critical perspectives around agency and FON initiatives points to nursing participating in its own marginalized status by relinquishing control over the discourse that defines and determines the direction of the profession.…”

“…Nursing often seeks to “mimic the group with the most symbolic capital in the field.”49 (p10) The “professional project” that nursing is engaged in is wrapped up with the desire for recognition and status 49. (p2) Whether this “professional project” is a worthwhile endeavor has been an ongoing subject of discussion 49,50. For us, the deafening silence in nursing with respect to critical perspectives around agency and FON initiatives points to nursing participating in its own marginalized status by relinquishing control over the discourse that defines and determines the direction of the profession.…”

Ethnic minority patients in healthcare from a Scandinavian welfare perspective: The case of Denmark

“…As Bell (2021b) discusses, tenets of equal treatment and colour blindness are present in Western nursing education. Nursing is portrayed as monolithic and apolitical in which differences are erased and historical influences are denied (Bell, 2021a). This leads to nursing professionalism and identity being constructed as universally desirable and eventually neutralised.…”

“…In summary, the tendencies of healthcare professionals to be socialised into high levels of autonomy, as well as their strong professional identities based on scientific rationality and core ethical principles, could also complicate discussions of discrimination (Hamed et al, 2020). Marginalised identities risk becoming further marginalised (Bell, 2021a) by becoming problematized ‘othered’ patients (Hilario et al, 2018). Consequently, the risk of discrimination, based on socially constructed differences, could contribute to health inequalities (Bell, 2021a).…”

“…Marginalised identities risk becoming further marginalised (Bell, 2021a) by becoming problematized ‘othered’ patients (Hilario et al, 2018). Consequently, the risk of discrimination, based on socially constructed differences, could contribute to health inequalities (Bell, 2021a).…”