‘Colored nurses?’ Do better Good Samaritan Hospital | Opinion

On April 23, administration at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital sent out an agenda for management-union committee that included this item: “Racial bias: (WSNA nurse representative) believes there is discrepancy for colored nurses as it relates to discipline.”

“Colored nurses.”

I’m an African American, Black RN who has worked in various nursing roles for over 30 years, the last 13 in the ICU at Good Sam. I have never seen the term “colored” used to describe African Americans. Not since I was a child in the early 1960s, a time when that word was still seen and Black people were still being called “colored” by white people.

The use of the word “colored” — in this day and age — was a slap in the face, made worse by the fact that the committee members are almost entirely white. The word was even spelled how it was back before the civil rights movement, when segregation was legally sanctioned and separate drinking fountains, pools and hotels, and so many more things were marked as “white only” and “colored only.”

It felt like any issues around racial bias or discrimination at the hospital were being blamed entirely on Black people, rather than looking at it through the lens of the many different people of color at Good Sam. “People of color” means something completely different than “colored.”

When I was first told about the use of this offensive term, committee members assumed that one of the secretaries wrote the comment on the agenda, that it was simply “an error.” But that assumption goes against my service in the U.S. Navy, where I worked directly with my Command Officer, as a Yeoman (secretary). I saw many top-secret letters, memos and messages, so I know what is required of a strong, dependable secretary. I would proofread and might make suggestions on how something could be written differently, but I never simply added something without my Command Officer seeing it and approving it.

During my time in the Navy, I never saw or was given a memo or letter addressing African American or Black sailors as “colored sailors.” Looking back to my experiences as a secretary. I felt that comment should have been caught and addressed before it was posted online with top executive names on it.

After nurses and our union representatives at the Washington State Nurses Association raised the issue as unacceptable, Good Sam administration posted a memo online to address the incident and plans moving forward. It didn’t use the term “colored nurses” much less explain it. But that memo has given us African American nurses the opportunity to answer questions that our fellow RNs have about the phrase “colored nurses” – what it means and why it is offensive.

Clearly, Good Sam has a long way to go. If a term like “colored nurses” can slip into an agenda, we must continue looking into racial issues and bias at Good Samaritan – not just for nurses and other staff, but also for our patients.

Jacqueline Dynes, MSN, RN is an ICU nurse at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital.