TAKING CHARGE: When racism threatens to derail your career!
This week while scrolling on twitter(it will forever be twitter! Sorry X) instead of doing the work I was meant to be doing ( procrastination will be the death of me! I am a work in progress) , I came across a tweet about a young Black nurse who was concerned that he was experiencing racism at work and had reached out to his mentor for some advice as to what to do. The advice given was opposite of what many have often followed ( put in a complaint/grievance) and instead was about choosing you battles and planning your exit. I must confess it threw me for a moment, because i would have said report it, raise the grievance so that there is a record, even if the system is broken and onesided, because somebody somewhere will one day thank you for having had your grievance recorded because it helped them hold that party/organisation to account even if at that particular time it didn't serve you. But then on reflection, I found that it was very sound and practical advice for that particular situation, a young Black Nurse just starting out in their career. Because on many an occasion we have seen and witnessed the disturbing fact that the complainant is normally the one who gets their life and livelihood disrupted while the one who was at wrong gets to keep their job and all the perks that come with it, sometimes they even get a promotion! And if you are just at the start of your career the knock on effect and consequences can be more devastating.
I was then reminded of the brilliant author Toni Morrison’s saying/observation about racism about it being a ‘distraction’ and how it keeps you from doing your work because you are forever caught up in a loop of trying to prove them wrong! And I was like, Aha, that indeed has been their strategy all along. Think of how many Black nurses have quit their work or been let go because of experiencing racism and/or after raising grievances to that effect. How many have left to protect their peace and gone on to work as agency/bank nurses full time with no prospect of career progression, pay increases, backing of an organisation and access to a pension scheme? While the instigators and perpetrators are free to continue working, progressing in their careers with the backing of the organisation and access to a generous pension scheme and full employment benefits. We are constantly playing catch-up with careers, wealth generation, health equity, a decent life and home and a comfortable retirement. How do we change the narrative especially for our young Black nurses who are just starting out?
Don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that you must endure horrendous racism to gain the above, because nothing can ever compete or replace your health and mental health that constant weathering due racism does to our bodies and soul, that’s not it. It is a way to look at other alternatives to quitting or being pushed out after raising a grievance, a kind of nipping the problem in the bud before it causes you further harm. It involves using the same tactics you would use to ensure career progression when you feel stuck at your current post, you move. So instead of being stuck and bogged down with the farce of an investigation into grievances you have raised, you change tactic by not raising that grievance.
Under that tweet, was a brilliant reply that mentioned strategy, importance of picking your battles and conserving your energy and channelling it to find ways to move to your next opportunity in a department, ward or organisation that values you for who you are and doesn’t put obstacles in your way because of your skin colour. Like i say in my book ‘The Extreme Sport of Nursing while Black’ :- Check out your employer. By doing research, you get an idea of the work culture of that organisation, ward or unit and if they would be a good fit for you. If it all checks out, you move and take yourself somewhere where you are celebrated and allowed to thrive. Strategise to soar, the tweet said and it has now become one of my favourite phrases.
“Strategise to soar, higher and higher out of reach of petty fingers” - Andrew Nwosu
Maybe this way, we get to somehow even the playing field, even for a bit instead of playing catch-up. So here’s to STRATEGISING TO SOAR and leaving petty fingers behind!
The Wandering Nurse. x
