Racism in contemporary Australian nursing

Abstract

I refer to the article, "A Little Story About Racism in Nursing" by Robyn Coulthard in the January edition of this Journal (Volume 43, No 1). If the subject matter were not so serious it would be an amusing and illustrative anecdote to retell student nurses. It confirms that racism within nursing continues to exist and does not rely on being either conscious or deliberate - rather, racism comes in various forms. Prejudice certainly still exists within nursing in Australia and, with a couple of notable exceptions by Indigenous academics such as Edwards and Sherwood (2006), has been a 'sleeper' issue, which the profession has largely ignored or denied exists. Racism is a taboo and ineffable topic.