You’ve Got to be Two, Three Times Better Than Anybody Else: Experiences of Black Nurse Anesthetists in Nurse Anesthesia Education

In a recent survey of nurse anesthetists in the United States, ninety percent identified themselves as White/Caucasian, and less than three percent identified themselves as Black. This qualitative study was designed to examine barriers and assistors to Black nurse anesthetists when applying to and during a nurse anesthesia educational program. Interviews were conducted with twelve practicing Black nurse anesthetists, and the resulting data was coded into various themes. The codes identified were grouped into broad categories: Resources, Exclusion, Hazing, Inclusion, and Significance. In the Resources category, the themes identified were: awareness, navigating the system, and funding. In the Exclusion category, the following themes were identified: segregation, I don’t belong, proving. In the Hazing category, identified themes were: misidentification, mistreatment, coping strategies. In the Inclusion category, the themes included: representation, mentorship, outreach. In the Significance category, the key themes were: recognition and purpose. The themes were then used to make recommendations for increasing professional diversity, such as the development of formal mentorship programs, increasing representation of people of color in advertising, and the development of training modules dealing with bias and diversity.