IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jocnur/v27y2018i15-16p3225-3234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the invisibility of black nurse leaders using a black feminist poststructuralist framework

Author

Listed:
  • Keisha Jefferies
  • Lisa Goldberg
  • Megan Aston
  • Gail Tomblin Murphy

Abstract

Aim This paper explores the invisibility and underrepresentation of Black nurses in formal and informal leadership roles using a Black feminist poststructuralist framework. The paper describes historical and contemporary challenges experienced by Black nurses throughout their nursing education and in practice. It also highlights how social and institutional discourses continue to marginalise and oppress Black nurses as leaders and render them invisible. Background Diversity among nursing leaders is essential to inform health care delivery, develop inclusive practices and provide culturally sensitive care. Despite this glaring need for diversity within nursing in Canada, there remains a significant underrepresentation of Black nurses in the workforce and as leaders. Design This is a discursive paper on Black nurses in nursing education and the workforce as well as their location as leaders in health care through a critical analysis using Black feminist poststructuralism. Methods A review of the literature involved searching electronic databases CINAHL, NovaNet, PubMed and Google Scholar using keywords including: Black; African; Nurses; Leaders; Feminism; Poststructural. Articles were screened by titles and abstracts before accessing full‐text for relevant articles. Results Black feminist poststructuralism uncovers how power, language, subjectivity and agency are constructed by the historically ingrained social and institutional discourses of everyday life for Black nurses. Experiences of discrimination and oppression were common throughout nursing education and practice for Black nurses, resulting in feelings of marginalisation and isolation. Conclusion The invisibility of Black nurse leaders is the result of generational oppression and discrimination manifested through discourses. Systemic, institutional and historical discourses perpetuate barriers for Black nurse leaders, resulting in their invisibility or absence in practice. Relevance to Clinical Practice This paper is designed to generate discussion related to the invisibility of Black nurse leaders by providing an understanding of the historical experiences of Black people, their entry into the nursing profession and the present day challenges they face. This discussion will inform health care practice, policy, and structuring by identifying the barriers to leadership for Black nurses.

Suggested Citation

  • Keisha Jefferies & Lisa Goldberg & Megan Aston & Gail Tomblin Murphy, 2018. "Understanding the invisibility of black nurse leaders using a black feminist poststructuralist framework," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(15-16), pages 3225-3234, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:27:y:2018:i:15-16:p:3225-3234
    DOI: 10.1111/jocn.14505
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14505
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jocn.14505?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:27:y:2018:i:15-16:p:3225-3234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2702 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.