Latino and African American people are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s. In fact, by 2030 African Americans and Latinos will make up 40 percent of Alzheimer’s patients in the United States. To combat this, these communities need equal access to healthcare and more information about brain health from people they trust – and nurses are among the most trusted voices in communities across the country.
Join the Webinar to discuss brain health equity on Sunday, November 20th, 6-7 PM Eastern, hosted by Dyanne Rodriguez, DNP, MPH, a Fellow of the US Against Alzheimer’s Center for Brain Health Equity.
Dr. Dyanne Rodriguez, RN, has earned her MPH from the University of Alaska Anchorage and DNP from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her work as a public health nurse leader includes a focus on education, Canadian and U.S healthcare systems, health promotion and outreach. Dr. Rodriguez has committed her focus in public health through collaborating with communities and healthcare team members. She currently works in urban/rural acute care centers, is a faculty lecturer and an active community member.
My heart has been heavy the last few days. Every time I open my social media pages, I am reminded of the tragedy that occurred in Dallas on October 22, 2022. Two healthcare workers, a nurse and a social worker, were senselessly killed while only trying to provide care. A few days before this incident, a psychiatric nurse practitioner was stabbed to death by her patient. These incidents are mere drops in the bucket when it comes to violence against nurses.
In 2019, the American Journal for Managed Care published an article titled “Violence Against Healthcare Workers: A Rising Epidemic” by Wallace Stephens. The article discusses how workplace violence against healthcare workers has risen as reported by emergency department physicians. The article further points out that while 70% of staff reported acts of violence, only 3% pressed charges. Furthermore, the article points out that healthcare has become like factory work. Staffing challenges, sicker patients, and less resources have stretched healthcare’s limits. Expectations of family and patients are high, leaving healthcare workers unable to meet their demands. Being able to “manage” the workload simply isn’t enough.
A Press Ganey analysis showed that, on average, 2 nurses are attacked every hour in the United States. Attackers included patients, family member, coworkers, visitors and intruders (Putka, 2022). It is important to note, that not all workplace violence is physical. Verbal assaults occur more frequently than physical assaults and come most often from patients, followed by their family members and/or visitors (Kim et al., 2021).
I have been a nurse for over 20 years. In those years, I cannot recall a single year that went by without some form of assault. While mostly verbal, I have also experienced physical assault. In the course of providing care, I have been cursed at more times that I can even think. I have been told I am stupid. I have been slapped, kicked, pinched. I have been grabbed to the point of having bruises on my arms. All for the sake of patient care. While my positive nursing experiences far outweigh these negative ones, I found myself questioning if those were the reasons I left bedside nursing. Had it become too much for me?
I see the posts on social media. The RN badge with the black line through it. The show of support, solidarity. But I also know that this is temporary. We will forget. We will move on to the next thing. In honesty, what have we accomplished? Our profile showed how much we “cared”, for a day, maybe a week. What have we accomplished?
Nurses are one of the largest professions in the United States. There is the old saying “power in numbers”. We have the numbers. Why do we not have the power?
After the shooting that killed 2 healthcare workers in Dallas, American Nurses Association president Ernest Gant released this statement: “We mourn for the individuals who horrifically lost their lives, and we extend heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims. Time is up. Violence against nurses is unacceptable. This must end now.”
Violence against healthcare workers must end. It is dangerous not only to those providing care, patients are suffering. We are suffering. We have the numbers. Now is the time to use those numbers. To gather and speak up against these violent acts. It is time to do more than change our social media profile picture for a day or two.
How can you make a difference? Talk to your legislators. Go to their offices. Write them letters. VOTE!. Time is up. It is now time to take action and become involved. It is time to use our power of numbers to make a difference for ourselves and future nurses.
References
Kim, S., Mayer, C., & Jones, C. B. (2021). Relationships between nurses’ experiences of workplace violence, emotional exhaustion and patient safety. Journal of Research in Nursing, 26(1-2), 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120960200
Serena is a nurse education specialist with a passion for nurse advocacy. Serena is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing Science at Texas Woman’s University. She earned her MSN-Nursing Education from the University of Houston in 2019. Serena is actively involved with Texas Nurses Association, including Nurse Day at The Capitol. We have the power, we just need to use it.
Following up from the first “unveiling” of the video stories from participants in our “Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing,” this zoom gathering will feature three thematic films that feature the storytellers.* The themes are “Racism in Nursing Education-Undergrad”, “Caring Against the Grain” and “Patient Race Bias”. After viewing the films, participants will engage with one another to discuss paths forward to create change.
When: Monday, October 17, 2022, 1:00pm to 4:00pm Eastern
American Sign Language and Live Captioning will be provided.
We return for our “Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing” discussions on September 24, 2022 at 4 PM Eastern, continuing monthly on the last Saturday of every month! Our discussions will again be hosted by Lucinda Canty, PhD, CNM, FACNM and will begin with a critical reflection on the recent apology issued by the American Nurses Association (download PDF here). Our discussions continue to be guided by our “Principles of Reckoning” (see below) with the focus in the coming year on developing our own solutions so that we can take action!
Register here:
When: Sep 24, 2022 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting
Principles of Reckoning
All of the activities related to “Overdue Reckoning” are guided by our Principles of Reckoning, which take a bold anti-racist stand for nursing. Our principles are:
We claim the courage to join together through the experience of building our anti-racist capacity in nursing.
We cherish the contributions and honor the voices of Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other Nurses of Color, and yield the floor to those voices throughout our time together.
We recognize that we cannot move forward without a deep understanding of Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other nurses of color experiences with racism.
The insights and recommendations of Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other nurses of color are vital to ground our thinking, and to guide our actions.
We pledge to listen deeply and with respect to any and all expressions of anger, rage, despair and grief arising from racism.
We commit to healing those harmed by racism.
We commit to challenging, resisting and ending the voices and actions that sustain white privilege.
We seek to nurture authentic anti-racist awareness.
We will inspire and nurture action, as we boldly claim an anti-racist identity for nursing.
Those who have participated in the “Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing” have heard mention of “the documentary” that has been underway since our beginning, a project made possible by Sue Hagedorn who is a co-author of the “Nursing Manifesto” and a documentary film-maker. Now it is published and available to all on the “Reckoning with Racism in Nursing” website!
There are videos of 40 individual conversations – nurses of color sharing their experiences of racism and their hopes for the future, and 3 thematic explorations that address undergraduate education, the dynamics of racism in relation to patient care, and patient race-bias. The individual conversations address a broad range of issues, including the challenges of living in a duality of cultures, race-based bias in nursing and healthcare, reasons for the persistence of racism in nursing, and ideas for creating an anti-racist future.
The leadership group on the project includes our “Overdue” host Lucinda Canty, and participants Frankie Manning, Gayle Robinson, Sue Hagedorn, Melissa Mokel and Raeann LeBlanc. The project was funded and produced through the generous support of Seedworks Films, and produced in conjunction with StoryCenter, an international participatory media organization. The StoryCenter staff who produced the films are Sharon Latimer-Mosley, Joe Lambert, Jonny Chang, and Armand Jayne.
We are thrilled with this dimension of our “Overdue” work! But our work is far from over! We have taken “time off” for the summer, but we will resume our active project work in September! Watch our “Overdue” page for more information, and join our email lists for more information going forward!
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