Discrimination in the Nursing Field

Age
2013 survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and
The Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers, 53% of the RN workforce is age 50
or older(Harris, T. July 16, 2016. Ageism in Nursing: Dispelling the Myths)
Suggestions for improvement:
Younger nurses should learn from the older nurses do to their years of

Gendeexperience
5.4% of the 2.1 million R.N.s employed in nursing are men (Staff. March 30, 2013.
r in Nursing)
Men
Suggestions for improvement:
Male and female nurses need to work on keeping the patient healthy

Role
Preventable medical errors kill 100,000 patients a year, or a million people a decade,
s
wrote Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh in their book Wall of Silence. (Brown,
more than discriminating against each others gender

T. March 16, 2013. Healing the Hospital Hierarchy)

Suggestions for improvement:
Increasing communication between Physicians and Nurses such as training with each

other to form team building

Harassment

Fifty four (40.30%) respondents have ever faced some form of sexual
harassment, verbal harassment being the most common form. Sexual
harassment was more frequent in the nurses of age group 20 29 years
(62.96%) and in unmarried (59.25%). Physicians were the foremost perpetrators
(37.03%) followed by patients relatives (25.93%) (International Journal of
Health Sciences and Research. April 23, 2013)
Suggestions for improvement:
Remove yourself from the situation and report it

Sexual Orientation

A study reports the findings of an online survey of 261 an LGBTQ health advocacy
organization revealed that many workplaces lacked policies and procedures that would
make LGBTQ nurses feel safer and more included and that many coworkers,
supervisors, and patients had exhibited discriminatory behavior or verbal harassment,
sometimes leading to significant consequences for the LGBTQ worker(J Prof Nurse.
August 2011. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning Nurses'
Experiences in the Workplace)
Suggestions for improvement: