Facing Incivility Within Nursing Education.
The fundamental characteristics of nursing as a profession are care, compassion, and inclusiveness. And yet in many nursing schools, care remains absent, incivility reigns, and systemic isms like racism, discrimination, and stereotyping exist that profoundly erode these values and affect not only faculty and students but also the quality of education that is eventually provided. Understanding the intersectionality of these forces is imperative to create academic spaces that foster civil, welcoming, and inclusive conditions that enable all learners and educators to thrive.
The Face of Racism in Nursing Education
Racism has overt and covert manifestations influence an institution’s governing policies, practices, and decision-making. Faculty and students who belong to a marginalized racial or ethnic group face hurdles that could be as slight as microaggressions, microaggressions, lack of adequate resources, or biased assessments, and with time, lead to more severe consequences such as Violence, bullying, or harassment. In an ethnically homogeneous institution, dominant group members tend to ignore and isolate other ethnic groups; the chronic exposure to such stimuli leads to severe anthropogenic and psychological consequences like anxiety, depression, and poor academic performance.
Intersectional Discrimination
The intersectionality of discrimination, including race, is the disablement of gender discrimination. While bias is not singular, with multifaceted forms such as disability, economic standing, and age entwined to amplify the inequality. For instance, a female undergraduate nursing student might experience the layers of racism and sexism simultaneously, for additional obstacles and limited pathways for upward mobility available to shuttle. These intertwining instances result in and give rise to forms of discrimination that pose distinct challenges that are not adaptable to generic approaches.
Stereotypes and Their Consequences
Contemporary discrimination stems from deeply entrenched stereotypes concerning race, culture, and gender. For example, international faculty’s participation seems to be based on preconceived notions concerning their abilities, while minority students appear predisposed to a stereotype regarding their diligence. This tunnel vision invariably affects their grading, mentorship and leadership opportunities. Additionally, stereotypes instill “stereotype threat,” the burden of confirming negative stereotypes; a psychological weight that can stifle ambition, muzzle voices that nursing education profoundly yearns to hear, and in the most damaging and counterproductive manner, nursing education certainly does not wish to hear.
How Incivility Takes Root
The unchecked tolerance of racism, discrimination, and underlying stereotypes perpetuates behaviors that erode nursing incivility in the strongest sense of the word. Dismissive and bullying inclinations become the norm, as do passive-aggressive interactions. Bystanders who permit (through failure to act) or preconceive bias actively give credence to this unspoken doctrine. It is impossible for students not to absorb these behaviors and direct them to peers or instructors they perceive as “different,” thus further exacerbating divides. This cynical environment severely impairs the profession’s ethical obligations of dignified, empathetic care.
Building an Inclusive Academic Culture
To solve these systemic issues, which require sustained effort over time:
1. Institution-wide Anti-Racism and DEI (Diversity Equity Inclusion) Training
Ensure every student, faculty member, and administrator can identify and sufficiently act on bias. Furthermore, training must go beyond awareness of inclusion to implementing strategies and practical teaching of conflict resolution, and even more so, active allyship.
2. Diverse Leadership and Decision-Making
The setting of policy and culture is key. Recruiting, retaining, and advancing members of the underrepresented groups demonstrates a real commitment to equity and deepens institutional insights.
3. Polices on Discrimination and Incivility that are Straightforward and Enforced
Policies are necessary to define unacceptable behaviors and develop clear guidelines for reporting, investigating, and resolving such cases.
4. Support and Mentorship Programs Targeted at Specific Groups.
Active mentorship assists senior scholars and students by giving them allies who understand their experiences, encourage advocacy, and mitigate solitude.
5. Responsibility and Open Discussion
Informal gatherings like town hall meetings, advisory committees, and focus groups allow community members to capture their concerns, give feedback, and track changes made to improve the community. Changes must be made to support foster and shared responsibility, but visibility ensures accountability.
A Call to Action
Discrimination, racism, and stereotyping exist inescapably in the discipline of nursing academia along with acts of incivility, which contradict what is the highest ideals of the profession. Only by purposefully and without relenting dedicating themselves to creating policies that provide for change, accompanied by never-ending teaching, can nursing schools develop settings in which every learner is cherished, nurtured, and ready to provide care that is not only compassionate but also culturally sensitive. In taking these steps, nursing education will not only protect its reputation but also develop a workforce that is responsive to the myriad needs of society, one that genuinely demonstrates care, compassion, and inclusivity in values and actions.
