The Experience of Racial Microaggressions of Registered Nurses Working in a Children’s Hospital
Open Access DepositedA report by the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing found that nearly two-thirds of registered nurses (RNs) in a national survey (N = 5,623) personally experienced racism at work, and more than half felt that racism negatively impacted their professional well-being. Microaggressions were specifically chosen as a construct to be explored among nurses, since they are often unconscious verbal slights occurring daily and negatively impact nurses’ physical and mental health outcomes. Though the Future of Nursing calls for increasing the diversity pipeline of RNs, nurses are frequent targets of microaggressions from both colleagues and leaders, resulting in burnout and negatively impacting well-being, as well as recruitment and retention efforts. A qualitative exploratory design was used to describe and gain a deeper understanding of the experience of racial microaggressions of RNs working in a children’s hospital. Individual interviews of nurses were conducted, audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Three categories containing 12 themes resulted from data analysis. First, the category of experiencing racial microaggressions included themes of (1) biased first impressions, (2) “firing” the nurse, (3) questioning experience or credentials, (4) where do I belong? and (5) all jokes have a grain of truth. The second category of responding to microaggressions contained the themes (6) not being silent, (7) intentional nonconfrontation, and (8) showing or seeking support. Third, the addressing microaggressions using personal and professional strategies category included themes of (9) empowering, (10) bracketing, (11) communicating thoughtfully to build trust, and (12) doing more to be perceived the same. Nurses regularly experience racial microaggressions from peers, leaders, and patient families. This results in impaired peer relationships and can negatively impact patient care. A priority area for academic and practice-based nursing educators must be to equip nurses and nurse leaders with the tools to recognize and respond to workplace racial microaggressions. Ensuring equity and inclusion is a mandate for the health and well-being of nursing as a profession.
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