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Racism is a longstanding public health crisis that impacts mental, spiritual and physical health. The Nursing Code of Ethics demands that we, as nurses, accept and care for people as they are.
However, within the profession of nursing, we have failed to be antiracist. 63% of nurses say they have personally experienced an act of racism in the workplace. ANA acknowledges our own role in perpetuating racism through our past actions and omissions.
ANA is fully committed to a journey of reckoning and of seeking reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. We will focus on our work and the experience in the nursing profession as a whole.
Racism DefinedRacism: Assaults on the human spirit in the form of actions, biases, prejudices, and an ideology of superiority based on race that persistently cause moral suffering and physical harm of individuals and perpetuate systemic injustices and inequities. (National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, 2021)
In January, 2024, the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing awarded funds to ten organizations implementing evidence-based strategies to dismantle institutional, structural, and systemic racism in nursing. The funds were contributed by the American Nurses Association (ANA), as part of its journey of racial reconciliation.
ANA s journey of racial reckoning started in June 2022 when the ANA Membership Assembly the governing and official voting body of ANA adopted the ANA Racial Reckoning Statement.
The Commission examines the issue of racism within nursing nationwide, focusing on how racism affects nurses, patients, communities, and health care systems.
Resources for Change
The National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing and ANA are continuing to create resources for nurses to address racism in the workplace.
