Integrative Literature Review

Barbara J. White and Janet S. Fulton wrote an integrative review researching the experiences African American nurses had while attending a predominately white nursing program. African American’s are extremely underrepresented in U.S. nursing programs. The majority of nursing students feel isolated from their peers due to a lack of African American students in general. Some students even mentioned being the only African American student in their class. They found it hard to be part of the groups which made participating in class and study groups difficult. Many of the students acted “white” to try in fit in with their classmates, however then they felt isolated from their own peer groups. In some situation faculty made it harder to fit in due

to subtle racist comments. They realized that faculty members held a major influence over the students whether positive or negative. The nursing students felt interpersonal connections necessary for success. Minorities overall experience different stresses than some of their peers stemming from discrimination and racism.
The researchers in this study were able to get a first hand account from African American students in hopes of changing the system for the better. The study proves that minorities need different things than the majority students in order to prosper. Even though African Americans have overcome slavery and civil rights, there’s still racism and judgment. Subconsciously we all judge others, however some people let that affect the way they treat others. This study can be used to improve more than nursing programs for minorities. Researchers can use this information to improve schools, the workplace, and overall society.
Everyone has specific needs in order to feel successful in life. Minorities have a tougher time reaching their goals because of discrimination from society. However, we all face problems and failures while trying to accomplish our goals. In the end we all are going to have obstacles that we will need to overcome. While everyone’s obstacles will differ and some may be more difficult to overcome than others, everyone will face problems. Everyone perceives things in a different way. Someone may see your life as perfect, when in reality you are dealing with your own problems. Everyone should have equal rights and freedoms to do as they choose. However, we must never forget that everyone has their own problems. Sometimes those problems may not make sense to us, but to them their whole world is falling apart. In order for things to change we need to understand that we all face difficulties and instead of making it a competition of who has it worse we need to help pick each other up.