The Unofficial Guide to Nursing while BLACK: An Ebook.
Racism in the NHS and other organisations is still an ongoing issue that has been highlighted by the recent black lives matter movement as well as the COVID19 pandemic. It is also great that more and more people are coming out and being vocal about it and calling for change which in my opinion is way overdue. I am also encouraged by the younger generation who are coming up the ranks and calling out incidences of racism and inappropriate behaviour. While all this is good and looks like we are heading in the right direction with regards to stamping out racism within and without the NHS, we must not lose sight of the fact that there are colleagues who are living this sad reality at this moment any given day up and down the country with serious consequences for their lives, livelihoods, health and family life and it can be a very lonely and frustrating place to be in.
The COVID19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have highlighted the issue of continued racism within the NHS and the wider work community. A number of recent studies have shown that black people still face alot of racism and job discrimination in the United Kingdom(U.K). Indeed a disproportionate number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic(BAME) nurses and midwives get referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) by their employers as opposed to their White counterparts, this is according to findings published by the NMC of their - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion research⁴ with the NMC not faring any better in dealing with racism within its organisation and in how it deals with the findings that a disproportionate amount of BAME nurses are referred to them under fitness to practice. It is disheartening and plainly unbelievable that in 2021 we are still talking about race and racism and that as a black nurse, indeed a black worker anywhere, i have to put in three times the effort, triple check my work and be in constant awareness of systems and regulations that in some instances sorely exist to trip me up. It is frankly exhausting but until change comes and I would like to believe that it will come, we still have to be on our guard, double up and prove ourselves over and over again. In this unofficial guide, I aim to pass on some of the gems I have learned and have been passed on over the years in what I call the extreme sport of nursing while black, in the hope that it will help my fellow Black Nurses navigate their workplaces, maybe even the playing field a little bit while we wait for changes to take place within and without our workplaces.
There are brilliant people out there who are voicing their concerns and shaking up the status quo. Silence is no longer an option. We must make our voices heard. Dr Maya Angelou sums it up beautifully in this quote below.
“When you know you are of worth - not asking it but knowing it - you walk into a room with a particular power” - Dr Maya Angelou.
