A scrub tech who I
was precepting told
me that she didn't
want to work with an
orthopedic surgeon
as part of her rota-
tion. When I asked
her why, she said the
surgeon made her
feel uncomfortable and told me he had held up an instrument during
a procedure and said, "This would make a good 'n——- knocker.'" I
was appalled and of course insulted, and reported the surgeon to the
hospital's chief of surgery.
Most of these incidents have occurred within the last five years.
I'm defensive of my culture because of my own experiences. If you
don't understand where I'm coming from, don't dismiss my pain or
invalidate my feelings. I'm in a predominantly white work environ-
ment filled with people who can't relate to what I'm experiencing. I
know the majority of my colleagues are good-natured, but some
choose to be ignorant of the racism, both subtle and overt, that's pres-
ent in health care.
I have numerous Caucasian friends and coworkers, and I don't
believe their silence makes them racists. But it does hurt when they
don't acknowledge derogatory behaviors going on around them, even
as they claim to support me. You can't move on from something that
continues to happen.
African Americans don't want to be limited on what we can achieve
in life due to racism or biases projected onto us by others. We are so
much more than the color of our skin, yet some people will never see
us for who we are at our core. We've been through a great deal, yet
2 8 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 2 0
"I've considered leaving
this environment numerous
times, but I keep showing up
because patient care
is my calling."
