Latinas in Healthcare

Cynthia is a 22-year-old hematology oncology nurse. She began at Durham Tech, where she earned her associates, then transferred to UNC, where she earned her bachelor's degree. She graduated in the spring of 2021, and in the fall of same year, she began working as an oncology nurse at Duke. Cynthia has the best of both worlds; she is half Mexican and half Guatemalan.

What impacts have you seen in healthcare due to the lack of Latinas? 

“I've seen the impact of the lack of Hispanics in the field of medicine on patients and the profession itself. Particularly when Hispanic nurses are caring for Hispanic patients. The care of patients is particularly affected. When the nurses don't speak Spanish, communicating with a patient who does might be challenging. As a result, things can be overlooked, which can be extremely dangerous. It is quite risky since in one specific instance, a patient was transferred to our unit. I read the report, and it mentioned that he was perplexed. He is just aware of his name and the location. I proceed to ask the patient questions when I enter the room to assess him, and he responds to them perfectly well. The more I got to know this individual, the more I understood that everything was fine and that the only problem was a language barrier. One of the issues, particularly in healthcare, is that Hispanic patients don't always receive the best care, the necessary attention, or the answers to their questions. Then, since it's my first day working with the patient, I'm asked a lot of questions when I arrive that I don't know the answers to.”

Why do you think the numbers are so low?

“There are several causes for not having as many latinas in this profession, including the difficulty of completing schoolwork and cultural factors. In our culture, we begin working at such an early age that we are already earning money at the ages of 16, 17, and 18. Therefore, why would we want to pursue a career that will require years to complete? For instance, it took me 4 years to complete my degree; yet, during those 4 years I did not work, so how am I going to sustain myself without the help of my parents? Thankfully, since I was studying, my parents did help me. But another reason is that a lot of it is gatekeeping as well; people are reluctant to reveal how they were able to make it to their current position. Before I started working at the hospital, I had no idea that there were some positions. Like a radiology technician or someone who performs an EKG. I have found that there are some groups in nursing school that were able to complete the program, despite the fact that the programs are specifically designed to be difficult to complete for nurses. My Hispanic group at UNC had eight to ten members when I first enrolled, but only 4-5 of us had earned degrees by the time the program came to a close. Only two of us in that group finished on time, with the others having to wait until the following semester or an entire year. I am one of the two Hispanic employees in our department. In total, we have 35 beds. Thus, at one point, we had 5–6 Hispanic patients. Sometimes our patients exclusively speak Spanish, while other times we have patients who comprehend English but are unable to communicate in it.”

 

What is a common misconception about working in healthcare?

“What we can do in nursing is a common misperception. The idea that nurses aren't familiar with the critical thinking that goes along with nursing, though it's a lot, is one of the biggest myths, in my opinion. For instance, if someone's blood pressure is extremely low, I am aware of what the doctor might prescribe, but I must still inform them since they have to submit the order. To avoid any potential complications, we must increase the flow of fluid and ensure that we are with them if they get up to use the restroom or perform any other task. People have the idea that we don't understand the science underlying a lot of things, but we do. A large part of our responsibility is to question the doctors, not to make them feel stupid but rather to make sure that this is what they truly want to perform. We, the nurses, act as an intermediary between the patient and the doctor.”

What is something that you like about your job and something you dislike?

“The fact that we are the middleman and must perform a great deal of work is something I dislike about my job. We are taking calls, getting things rectified, and phoning a lot of people, but some of them don't know what to do, so we are unsure of how to move forward with this assignment. The burden of figuring things out falls on us, which can be irritating. Finally, there are situations when family members rather than the patient present a challenge. Working with the hispnic patients is something I look forward to. The night shift is my favorite since you can genuinely spend time getting to know each of your patients. I enjoy getting to know them and doing the little things that really matter to them and make them happy.”

Do you think you will work in healthcare for the rest of your career?

“I don't believe nursing is sustainable the way it is right now. Although I believe I couldn't continue doing this for the rest of my life. Since clinic nursing is simpler than bedside nursing, if I went back to school and learned more, I would probably quit bedside nursing and work as one. After I retire, I think I'll engage in some sort of volunteer work. I truly enjoy nursing since it allows me to use my hands and be active. I was researching vaccination clinics before beginning my nursing career. I think I would continue volunteering in the medical field in some capacity.”

If you were not working in healthcare where would you be working?

“If I wasn't working in the medical field I probably would be working at a desk job probably in finance. But I believe I am working at my dream job, however, I didn't realize that this was my reality until around 6-7 months after I had completed my orientation. Oh my goodness, this is crazy, I'm a nurse. For some reason, I had the impression that people like us could never advance in their careers or work in these positions. I don't know why in my head I didn't think I would get this far. But I am actually living out my dream.”

Were there moments in your journey where you didn't want to keep going?

“Nursing schools foster a very toxic environment, both physically and mentally. the difficulty of the courses. There was a point when I thought, This is awful. I understand that entering a profession will cause constant stress for me. Like this is not at all what I had in mind. I was in the second to last semester of my degree program and thought, Well, I'm almost done; I can't stop now. So I simply carried it out. I thought about when I'm done, maybe it will be better. If I choose, I can always get up from my bedside.” 

What made you want to go into healthcare?

“When I was younger and my family wasn't in church I would watch the untold stories of the ER and documentaries about pregnant ladies on the Discovery Channel. So I have always been interested in things related to the medical field. But my classmate who was diagnosed with leukemia during my sophomore year of high school and who chose not to tell anyone because she didn't want anyone to find out was the one thing that made me certain I wanted to work in oncology.”

Was there someone in your life that helped you keep going?

“Sis Carla comes to mind as one of the individuals; back when I was completing my prerequisites, which was before COVID, I used to help her with bus ministry. I remember her telling me to pray about it and she would encourage me to keep going. She was definitely a real one.”

What is a piece of advice that you would give someone?

“One thing that always stuck with me is that all good things take hard work. I feel like a lot of times we think that it's going to be easy to reach the goals that we have for ourselves. But it's going to take hard work and it's going to take a lot of effort.”