Nurse/Patient and possible race issue

[Disney Doll]

Now, back to the nurse/patient thing - there are a couple of possibilities...
Patient is Miss Crabby-pants (maybe she doesn't feel well?) for reasons other than group differences.
Nurse is Miss Crabby-pants (maybe *she* didn't feel well?) for reasons other than group differences.
Patient hates people with skin-tone different from hers.
Nurse hates people with skin-tone different from hers.
The two of them just don't get along because of a personality clash completely separate from their skin-color/ethnic differences.

agnes!

Agreed...the difference is the nurse has to take the patient's crap. Frankly, I don't consider the fact that I get paid a license for patients to treat me like crap because of my skin color, especially since I don't treat them like crap because of their skin color. But, in this new world of "hospital as hotel", staff is not supported and basically anything that will make the patient happy and have them "choose" your hospital again is tolerated.

I would be safe to assume that if the same racist patient were in cardiac arrest that it would be OK for me (a white nurse) to perform CPR in an attempt to save her life, wouldn't it? I guess racism goes out the window then.

 

[DizBelle]

I believe, firmly, that a sick person, or person having a baby in a germ-filled hospital, or anyone who finds themselves in a hospital...should have the right to NOT have someone caring for them that they don't want caring for them.

And I don't care what the reason is.

So perhaps you could see if your hospital has such a caring thought, and if so, schedule by whatever method you schedule, but also let the patients know that if something is bothering them enough that it might be hindering their healing, that they can request someone else, and then you can see if someone else is available.

Regardless of how I feel about people not wanting someone to care for them based on race, if you are *caring* for a person's health, their emotional health counts too.

I'm kind of with you on this.

There can be any number of experiences a person has had that would influence who they feel comfortable with.

I could have had expeirences in my past where I don't trust ANY men except the one that I married and I may be extremely uncomfortable with any man attending to me during the extremely intimate and vulnerable position of labor and delivery. Could I not request having only female nurses during labor and delivery? Would that make me sexist?

What if you are black but you request only white nurses? Or you treat the black nurses horribly and the white nurses like angels. Maybe you have NEVER had a good experience with a black caregiver. Does that still make you "racist"? Technically, that is racist since it is preference due to race but would society consider it racist if the race you preferred was not your own?

 

[mermaidlady]

I read this thread and was just saddened by some of the attitudes shown here. I have just gotten off shift were we had to switch assignments because the daughter did not want a male nurse taking care of her mother. The mother was fine with having a male nurse. We have also dealt with a patient in the past who was extremely nasty to our Filipino nurses. Our manager went and told the patient very nicely to knock it off and we would not accept that kind of abuse. Nationality, sex, and race should not play a role in not accepting a nurse.

It is the patient's prerogative to choose their caregiver to an extent. If the sole reason that the patient doesn't want a nurse based only on the color of their skin or the sex of the nurse that, to me, in unacceptable. If there is a personality problem or the patient feels the nurse is incompetent then they can choose their nurse. But the nurse and patient should still try to work a solution. We as nurses are here to help but it is not a one way street. I understand that patients are sick and not their best and I do make allowances for that. But the patients need to be a part of team and work with their healthcare team to have the best possible outcome.

Sorry for the rambling but I have been up all night.

 

[npmommie]

Nurses and docs sometimes have tough patients.


It is a shame that your staff is being abused--but it is their job

yes we do have tough patients
and no it is not our job to be abused by patients, its not in our job description and its unacceptable.

See that's the thing - it wasn't her wishes to not have caucasian nurses - but when she had one, it was disaster for both parties.

could it have just been coincidence? was it the same nurse? maybe its a personality issue?

i would have social services intervene if that should happen. This type of "Drama" isn't good for the patient or the nurse.

I agree with this

I believe, firmly, that a sick person, or person having a baby in a germ-filled hospital, or anyone who finds themselves in a hospital...should have the right to NOT have someone caring for them that they don't want caring for them.

And I don't care what the reason is.

So perhaps you could see if your hospital has such a caring thought, and if so, schedule by whatever method you schedule, but also let the patients know that if something is bothering them enough that it might be hindering their healing, that they can request someone else, and then you can see if someone else is available.

Regardless of how I feel about people not wanting someone to care for them based on race, if you are *caring* for a person's health, their emotional health counts too.

I agree with this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

yes we do have tough patients
and no it is not our job to be abused by patients, its not in our job description and its unacceptable.

.

What I meant was--they can't get out of seeing a patient due to the abuse.

Some patients have little control over their behavior. Should they just heal themselves if the nursing staff doesn't like their attitude?

 

[KAMKIM]

See that's the thing - it wasn't her wishes to not have caucasian nurses - but when she had one, it was disaster for both parties.

If she specifically asks for it I guess it depends on hospital policy....but since she isn't asking for it the other nurses may have to just deal with it. That is a tough situation for the patient as well I'm sure.

I would not change assignments based on this. People need to learn how to deal with each other regardless of our differences.

 

[npmommie]

What I meant was--they can't get out of seeing a patient due to the abuse.

Some patients have little control over their behavior. Should they just heal themselves if the nursing staff doesn't like their attitude?

No we can't get out of caring for a patient but we can intervene to let the patient know the abuse is not acceptable, and I am not talking about those patients that cannot control their behaviour. We all as caregivers know how to put that aside when we care for them, I meant the patient who knowingly dishes out verbal abuse.


I also have to comment, if there is a personality conflict and the patient nurse combo isn't working, sometimes if its possible to switch it it will be done. It does the patient no good healing wise to be stressed out due to a nurse they just don't like for what ever reason.

 

[KAMKIM]

I do have to say I do feel for the patient if it truly is a comfort issue for her. I am not comfortable with male doctors. I've just always been that way and it has nothing to do with their abilities as a doctor. I believe that is my right as a patient.

 

[DizBelle]

I read this thread and was just saddened by some of the attitudes shown here. I have just gotten off shift were we had to switch assignments because the daughter did not want a male nurse taking care of her mother. The mother was fine with having a male nurse. We have also dealt with a patient in the past who was extremely nasty to our Filipino nurses. Our manager went and told the patient very nicely to knock it off and we would not accept that kind of abuse. Nationality, sex, and race should not play a role in not accepting a nurse.

It is the patient's prerogative to choose their caregiver to an extent. If the sole reason that the patient doesn't want a nurse based only on the color of their skin or the sex of the nurse that, to me, in unacceptable. If there is a personality problem or the patient feels the nurse is incompetent then they can choose their nurse. But the nurse and patient should still try to work a solution. We as nurses are here to help but it is not a one way street. I understand that patients are sick and not their best and I do make allowances for that. But the patients need to be a part of team and work with their healthcare team to have the best possible outcome.

Sorry for the rambling but I have been up all night.

(see bolded). True, but if I had been gang-raped by a group of black men in my past, I might be extremely uncomfortable with a male, black nurse attending to me during labor and delivery. Doesn't that make sense to you?

 

[DawnCt1]

I read this thread and was just saddened by some of the attitudes shown here. I have just gotten off shift were we had to switch assignments because the daughter did not want a male nurse taking care of her mother. The mother was fine with having a male nurse. We have also dealt with a patient in the past who was extremely nasty to our Filipino nurses. Our manager went and told the patient very nicely to knock it off and we would not accept that kind of abuse. Nationality, sex, and race should not play a role in not accepting a nurse.

It is the patient's prerogative to choose their caregiver to an extent. If the sole reason that the patient doesn't want a nurse based only on the color of their skin or the sex of the nurse that, to me, in unacceptable. If there is a personality problem or the patient feels the nurse is incompetent then they can choose their nurse. But the nurse and patient should still try to work a solution. We as nurses are here to help but it is not a one way street. I understand that patients are sick and not their best and I do make allowances for that. But the patients need to be a part of team and work with their healthcare team to have the best possible outcome.

Sorry for the rambling but I have been up all night.

Well you "rambled" very nicely, and ITA.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

.

It is the patient's prerogative to choose their caregiver to an extent. If the sole reason that the patient doesn't want a nurse based only on the color of their skin or the sex of the nurse that, to me, in unacceptable.

While I agree with you that race has no bearing I think it's silly of you to say it's unacceptable to have a gender preference. I can understand in the case you mentioned, where mom was fine with it but daughter wasn't then it's a gender bias or discrimination but in general I think in delicate situation it's perfectly normal to choose a male or female provider.

I didn't mind having a male nurse after I gave birth but I did notice a huge difference in care from him because he seemed uncomfortable checking things out on the lower end if you catch my drift. He asked me if I needed to be checked, I sensed his discomfort and told him no, that I was comfortable and didn't find it necessary. The female nurses didn't ask, they made it clear it was part of the care!

As for the OP, is it possible it was just a coincidence because earlier in the week or at a different time of day she was feeling worse so her behavior was worse but as the week went on she warmed up to the nurses? Or was the same behavior noticed after you saw her and it was a white nurse the next time?

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I had a pt. that i was told was very challenging - anger issues, defiant, verbally abusive, etc. After having her for eight hours, I did not have one single problem with her - we talked, laughed, joked - I even had to re-start her IV (which I thought that she was going to go ballistic, after hearing how she was described) and she was totally sweet about it.

The previous nurse, gave me report that the patient said some racial comments against caucasians. The nurse is white, I and the pt. are black.

I gave report to the next nurse, who is black/hispanic and after taking care of her, she also had no problem with the patient whatsoever.

This got me thinking - if this pt. has another caucasian nurse, would it again be drama for both the pt. and the nurse? If that was the case, should they try to steer clear of assigning caucasian nurses to this pt.?

Then I remembered the case a few years ago where the pt. requested not to have any black nurses when she delivered her baby and the request was granted, and people got into a lot of trouble.

As a health care provider I would hope you & the rest of the profession understands this is not only wrong but against the law.

If this question was about not sending a black health care provider to care for this patient the flames would be flying and most likely this post closed.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

How would you deal with a case of a racist white patient who didn't want a black nurse? This should be dealt with the exact same way. Racism cuts both ways.

 

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

Where I work, we do not make assignments out according to race, etc. If there is a problem with a family, the charge nurse or nurse manager go and find out what the problem is. We tell families that we do not tolerate poor behavior and they will be escorted off the unit. For the patient that is "racist" we don't make a big deal out of it and just go about our business, unless it comes to yelling and screaming, etc. Then we will see what will make this person happy, and most of the time we will not change the nurses' assignment unless she requests so.

It is my job to take care of you, you don't have to like me, I don't have to like you, but I have a job to do and I do it well.

And for the record, I have been called Fing white B*****, white b*****, etc. Now, who is the racist lol I drew the line at Fing white, heck, I am a white b*****, but I don't like that other word lol

People think teachers have it rough, they ought to work on a crazy med-surg floor for a day lol

 

[Disney Doll]

(see bolded). True, but if I had been gang-raped by a group of black men in my past, I might be extremely uncomfortable with a male, black nurse attending to me during labor and delivery. Doesn't that make sense to you?

It makes perfect sense and if you say "I had a very bad experience with black men and would prefer not to have any black men care for me", we would certainly do our best to try and accomodate you.

However, if you treated any black man badly who came in contact with you during your hospitalization without any explanation, I would think you were a racist.

 

[Disney Doll]

How would you deal with a case of a racist white patient who didn't want a black nurse? This should be dealt with the exact same way. Racism cuts both ways.

We have generally told patients that unless they have a valid complaint about a nurse other than his/her skin color, or an underlying issue (ie-white woman raped by black man who doesn't want a black male nurse as cited in previous example) then nurses are assigned as they are assigned with no thought to skin color.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Take race out of it. Why can't a patient decide if they do not want a certain nurse or doctor? Why does it matter what the reason is? Nobody gets to decide how another person thinks or feels. If the patient is a racist so be it. That is their perrogative. I don't think they should have to be forced to be cared for by anyone that they do not want regardless of their reason. YMMV.

 

[Disney Doll]

Where I work, we do not make assignments out according to race, etc. If there is a problem with a family, the charge nurse or nurse manager go and find out what the problem is. We tell families that we do not tolerate poor behavior and they will be escorted off the unit. For the patient that is "racist" we don't make a big deal out of it and just go about our business, unless it comes to yelling and screaming, etc. Then we will see what will make this person happy, and most of the time we will not change the nurses' assignment unless she requests so.

It is my job to take care of you, you don't have to like me, I don't have to like you, but I have a job to do and I do it well.

And for the record, I have been called F-ing white B*****, white b*****, etc. Now, who is the racist lol I drew the line at Fing white, heck, I am a white b*****, but I don't like that other word lol

People think teachers have it rough, they ought to work on a crazy med-surg floor for a day lol

That's for sure! med/surg for 26 years. I have been called some things that I never even heard of, body parts that I never knew existed, and have been called a white bi--- more times than I care to count. I had a man ask me once how it felt to be a white woman wiping his black a--. I told him I did not discriminate with a-- wiping based on race, creed, color or national origin. Left him speechless.

But then you have the really nice patients who make up for all the nasty ones.

 

[Heidict]

I believe, firmly, that a sick person, or person having a baby in a germ-filled hospital, or anyone who finds themselves in a hospital...should have the right to NOT have someone caring for them that they don't want caring for them.

And I don't care what the reason is.

So perhaps you could see if your hospital has such a caring thought, and if so, schedule by whatever method you schedule, but also let the patients know that if something is bothering them enough that it might be hindering their healing, that they can request someone else, and then you can see if someone else is available.

Regardless of how I feel about people not wanting someone to care for them based on race, if you are *caring* for a person's health, their emotional health counts too.

Wow You would support someones racist views and go out of your way to have them cared for by only the race / nationality that they desired?

Sounds like you would be opening up a ton of lawsuits if you were to run a hospital this way.

Personally, I think that patient needs to put on her big girl panties and deal with it.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Wow You would support someones racist views and go out of your way to have them cared for by only the race / nationality that they desired?

Sounds like you would be opening up a ton of lawsuits if you were to run a hospital this way.

Personally, I think that patient needs to put on her big girl panties and deal with it.

I don't agree with you at all. Just because you are accomodating a patient doesn't mean you are supporting their views of anything. It is not your job to force people not to be racist. You are there to take care of them. I don't think anyone has to put their big girl panties on and deal with it. They are the patient, they should be accomodated. We accomodate people because of their religious beliefs. Why can't we understand if someone is not comfortable with someone of a different race? Why does the patient have to explain why they don't like black/asian/white/inidan people? It is none of anyone's business.