Addressing Racism in the Nursing Profession: Be the Change

Self-Study Module

Provided by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts and
jointly provided by the New England Regional Black Nurses Association

Directions and criteria for completion for Optional Self-Study (2.0 Contact Hours)

1. Please select and read THREE Articles from the Bibliography
2. Answer the two related questions for each of the tree articles you read on the self study post activity survey.
3. This must be completed prior to the start of the zoom meeting on 11/9/2020. A total of six questions must be answered. All responses are narrative in nature and required a minimum of 50 words.
4. You must include your name, email address and phone number in the below fields and they must match your registration for the webinar in order to be awarded the optional contact hours.
5. All responses will be de-identified and shared only with the presenters to improve the presentation content.
6. You will be sent a code via email following the completion of the survey. PLEASE KEEP THIS CODE!
7. To claim contact hours, you must attend the 11/9/2020 webinar and complete the final program evaluation.When completing the final program evaluation after the 11/9/2020 program, you will need to enter your code to claim the optional self-study nursing continuing professional development contact hours (2.0).

This nursing continuing professional development activity has been submitted to the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (OBN-001-91).

SELF STUDY POST ACTIVITY SURVEY, CLICK HERE.
NOTE: MUST read three articles from the and complete corresponding (6) survey questions.

Words Matter: An Integrative Review of Institutionalized Racism in Nursing Literature. Thurman, Whitney A.; Johnson, Karen E.; Sumpter, Danica F.; Advances in Nursing Science, Apr-Jun2019; 42(2): 89-108. (20p) ISSN: 0161-9268 AN: 137265771

Abstract: In health care, as in society, racism operates on multiple levels and contributes greatly to health and social inequities experienced by black Americans. In addressing racism, however, health care has primarily focused on interpersonal racism rather than institutionalized forms of racism that are deeply entrenched and contribute to racial inequities in health. In order to meaningfully address health inequities, health care must extend its focus beyond the interpersonal level. The purpose of this integrative literature review is to identify how and to what extent peer-reviewed nursing literature and professional nursing organizations have explicitly addressed institutionalized racism. A systematic search of relevant nursing literature published since 2008 yielded 29 journal articles that focused on black Americans' experience of institutionalized racism in health and health care; the articles explicitly named racism as institutionalized, institutional, systemic, systematic, or structural. This review summarizes author-identified implications of institutionalized racism for nursing education, research, and practice, and offers suggestions for use by the nursing profession to dismantle racist policies, practices, and structures.

1. Articulate one strategy for nursing practice and education that can be used to combat institutionalized racism.
2. A microaggression has been defined as “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.”
   
   Describe a microaggression that you have committed as a nurse.  Do you think that this was the result of an implicit bias?
   or
   Describe a microaggression you have experienced as a nurse. How did it make you feel?  What did you do/say?  What would you do differently now if you had the same experience (if anything)? 
   

“I Can Never Be Too Comfortable”: Race, Gender, and Emotion at the Hospital Bedside. Cottingham, Marci D.; Johnson, Austin H.; Erickson, Rebecca J.; Qualitative Health Research, Jan2018; 28(1): 145-158. (14p) ISSN: 1049-7323 AN: 126548522

Abstract: In this article, we examine how race and gender shape nurses’ emotion practice. Based on audio diaries collected from 48 nurses within two Midwestern hospital systems in the United States, we illustrate the disproportionate emotional labor that emerges among women nurses of color in the white institutional space of American health care. In this environment, women of color experience an emotional double shift as a result of negotiating patient, coworker, and supervisor interactions. In confronting racist encounters, nurses of color in our sample experience additional job-related stress, must perform disproportionate amounts of emotional labor, and experience depleted emotional resources that negatively influence patient care. Methodologically, the study extends prior research by using audio diaries collected from a racially diverse sample to capture emotion as a situationally emergent and complex feature of nursing practice. We also extend research on nursing by tracing both the sources and consequences of unequal emotion practices for nurse well-being and patient care.

1. The author’s use audio diaries to illustrate disproportionate emotional labor among women of color. Explain how race and gender shape one’s emotional labor.
2. What does the concept of emotional labor mean to you and how it relates to your practice?
   

Racialized Experiences of Black Nursing Professionals and Certified Nursing Assistants in Long-Term Care Settings. Truitt, Anjali R.; Snyder, Cyndy R.; Journal of Transcultural Nursing, May2020; 31(3): 312-318. (7p) ISSN: 1043-6596 AN: 142637468

Abstract: Introduction. This study explores the ways in which racism-related stress affects the well-being and career trajectories of Black nursing professionals and certified nursing assistants and their strategies for coping with such stress. Method. Semistructured interviews were conducted to explore racism-related stress and coping strategies. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results. Findings illuminate how Black nursing professionals and certified nursing assistants experience both subtle and explicit racism in the workplace from a variety of actors, including patients, peers, and supervisors. Coping strategies included consultation with personal support systems, such as friends outside of work or family members. Participants described barriers to advancement, including disparate educational and mentoring experiences, and a lack of policies or standards to address racial bias and discrimination in their work settings. Discussion. Facilitating diversity in nursing and supporting nursing professionals of color requires multipronged approaches that include collaborations between education systems and employers.

1. Identify two race-related stressors you have experienced or observed in the workplace. After reading this article, how might your approach to resolving these stressors change? What outcome(s) do you hope to achieve?
2. Name two interventions you could integrate into your daily practice to reduce race-related stress? What might be the barriers to implementing these interventions and what resources would you utilize to resolve them? How will the approach you take be different than in the past?

The Role of Nurses as Allies Against Racism and Discrimination: An Analysis of Key Resistance Movements of Our Time.  Weitzel J; Luebke J; Wesp L; Graf MDC; Ruiz A; Dressel A; Mkandawire-Valhmu L, ANS. Advances in nursing science [ANS Adv Nurs Sci], ISSN: 1550-5014, 2020 Apr/Jun; Vol. 43 (2), pp. 102-113; Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; PMID: 32345799;
The remnants of colonialism manifesting as structural violence, racism, and oppression continue to plague our society as evidenced by the persistence of health inequities, particularly for minority populations in the United States. As a profession bound by moral and ethical mandates, nursing must resist and deconstruct oppression in all its forms. Nurses, informed by critical race theory, intersectionality, and historical trauma, can become formidable allies with marginalized populations in the fight for social justice and health equity.

1. The authors state that nursing has been informed by critical race theory, historical trauma and intersectionality. Explain how this is evident in our marginalized populations.
2. How has ANA responded to resistance movements to racism and discrimination? (Give an example.)

Nurses Must Fight Against Racism: ANA's President Shares How...Ernest Grant ISNA Bulletin, Aug-Oct2020; 46(4): 7-7. (3/4p)ISSN: 2575-2146 AN: 144827932

Please review the ANA Resolution on Racial Justice for Communities of Color

ANA, along with the Constituent/State Nurses Associations and the ANA Individual Member Division, pledges to: 

• Oppose and address all forms of racism and discrimination.
• Condemn brutality by law enforcement and all acts of violence.
• Champion the Code of Ethics for Nurses which calls on us to recognize human dignity regardless of race, culture, creed, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, age, experience, or any aspect of identity.   
• In partnership with nurses everywhere educate, advocate, and collaborate to end systemic racism, particularly within nursing.
• Advance institutional and legislative policies that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice for all.
• Advocate for the ending of health inequities within communities and health care systems that stem from systemic racism. 
• Promote deliberate and respectful dialogue, effective listening and commitment to change as a means to improve the health of all individuals and the communities where they live and work.

1. How can you operationalize these principles in your daily nursing practice?
2. What strategies will you employ to overcome the barriers to operationalizing these principles in your daily practice?
   

Abstract: Background The lack of diversity in the nursing professio.n could be an outcome of unconscious biases. Forums allowing the personal reflection and discourse of these unconscious biases are needed in order for a diverse and inclusive learning environment to exist. Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of students, staff, faculty members, and guests participating in a forum on diversity and inclusion. Methods An exploratory design was used to understand the experiences of college of nursing students, staff, faculty members, and guests who participated in a diversity and inclusion intervention sponsored by the college of nursing's Diversity Advisory Council. Attendees to 12 diversity book club, movie night, and speaker series' sessions completed a program evaluation tool. Responses to open-ended items were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis method. Responses from 197 participants were analyzed. Eight book club, seven movie night, and six speaker series' themes were derived from the data including Humanness is Universal, Personal Connection, The Problem, Awareness of Disparity, Make a Difference, and No Change. Discussion Participants at each session critically dialogued about their conscious and unconscious biases. The study findings show that participants also were able to document changes to their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in relation to the historically oppressed populations focused on during the intervention activities. Conclusion Education entertainment as used in this study was a valuable mechanism for hosting conversations about diversity and inclusion.