Nurses Are Facing Racism and Discrimination at Absurd Rates

It's tough out there for medical workers on the front lines—especially if you're a nurse and happen to be a person of color.

CBS News reports that a new survey from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds a whopping 80 percent of nurses said they see or hear racism on the job and experience discrimination. The survey said that Black, Asian, and Latino nurses get this type of treatment at much higher rates than white peers in the form of slurs and patients questioning their credentials.

The shabby treatment isn't just coming from patients. Six out of 10 nurses said they're also getting discriminated against by colleagues. Nine in 10 of those affected by racism and discrimination believe it's affected their mental health and their well being, the survey says.

The U.S. has about 4.2 million nurses, many of whom have just come out of one of the most challenging periods of time in the modern history of the profession as Covid-19 changed protocols and overwhelmed hospitals across the country.

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The Robert Wood Foundation survey included 980 nurses during March and April of 2022. A year before, a survey on racism in nursing found about half of the respondents said they saw racism in their profession.

What might help fix these problems? Nurses surveyed said they'd like to see more diversity in management positions, more diversity training, and zero-tolerance policies that include the option to report anonymously and that carry clear consequences for offenders.