Australian Nurses Forced to Apologize for Being White Before Treating Patients


A new code of conduct for Austrailian nurses and midwives, which came into effect in March, requires that ‘white privilege’ be announced before treatment of minorities can take place. The code has been labeled “eye-watering”, “cultural madness” and “unacceptable.”

This is eye-watering stuff,” Graeme Haycroft from the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland told Sky News host Peta Credlin.

“We’re calling for the resignation of the chairman of the board (Associate Professor Lynette Cusack) because she’s put her name to it and it’s unacceptable.”

Credlin called it “almost too hard to believe”. “Before (a midwife) delivers a baby to an indigenous woman she’s supposed to put her hands up and say: ‘I need to talk to you about my white privilege’, not about my infection control, my qualifications or my training as a midwife?” she asked Mr Haycroft.

He said that was correct, but there’s no requirement to “announce” anything. The nurses must simply abide by the new code which state clearly that “cultural safety is as important to quality care as clinical safety”.

“These actions are a means to challenge racism at personal and institutional levels, and to establish trust in healthcare encounters.”

Mr Haycroft said the code was hastily approved with little consultation.

“It’s all of Australia. There’s 350,000 nurses and midwives Australia-wide and they’re all now subject to this new code,” he said.

“We put a little survey on our website and we asked nurses whether they agreed with the code of conduct. Just over 50 per cent of our members have said ‘this is wrong, do something about it, fight it for us’.”

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia released a statement on March 1 asking nurses and midwives to “reflect on how the news of conduct relate to their practice”.

“These codes provide a foundation for safe practice and give guidance on crucial issues such as bullying and harassment, professional boundaries and cultural safety. Nurses and midwives need to meet the standards set in these codes, even if their employer also has a code of conduct,” Professor Cusack said.

Nurses and midwives fought the board in November last year when it was revealed a draft of the new code of conduct replaced references to “woman-centred care” with “person-centred care”.

Source: News.au.com



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  1. Avrum Halevi

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