In the high-stakes environment of health care, nurses are particularly subject to incidents of bullying and racism in the workplace. Many nursing students bring to their studies amazing soft-skills for proactive care-giving, but the skills to address and diffuse uncomfortable and volatile situations with confidence and tact are harder to come by. The Grounding Anti-Oppression online course can support this learning for anyone in any workplace setting, but for nurses, these skills can be particularly valuable.
November 18, 2024
“What we were hearing from our community is that nurse educators in clinical settings wanted more around this content to support the students when experiencing racism,” said Ranjit K. Dhari, Associate Professor of Teaching at the School of Nursing and co-chair of the school’s Anti-Racism Committee (ARC). She explains this covers a range of incidents, from patients refusing care from a person of colour to micro-aggressions between nurses.
Getting to the root of oppression
After a conversation with Dr. Sheryl Staub-French, Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion + Indigeneity (EDI.I) in the Faculty of Applied Science, Dhari completed Grounding Anti-Oppression. The course material was so valuable to her that she recommended to ARC that the course work be adapted to nursing, and made a mandatory requirement for nurse practice educators at the School of Nursing. With her colleague Jill Mahy leading content creation for this project, a modified version of the course specifically for nursing practice educators was launched in September, entitled “Embedding Antiracism & Actions Against Bullying and Harassment into Practice.”
Mahy, the school’s course lead and Anti-Racism Committee member, is candid when describing the everyday reality of the nursing hierarchy. “There’s a lot of bullying that happens in nursing,” she explained. “Oppression is one of those pieces that doesn’t always get talked about. Why are we uncivil? Why do we bully?”
Although there are no simple answers, the Canvas online course encourages us to take an honest look at ourselves and the way in which we move about in the world. It’s through understanding our own identities and lived experiences, and by bringing in the wider concepts of institution and society, that we may start understanding this web of oppression that has to come undone for there to be any progress.
Knowledge is Power in Anti-Oppression Advocacy
With so much going on in a workplace at any given moment, Mahy says it’s typical to ignore bullying. But she says it’s everyone’s responsibility to stand up to the injustices they see. It’s not easy—and it can actually be very difficult—but Grounding Anti-Oppression is a starting point when having these uncomfortable conversations.
Dhari echoes this idea with her own experience taking the course. “What I would say is that it helps to build your comfort,” she said. “Once you do this course, you’re more comfortable raising these issues or bringing them up into your classroom. It becomes easier to talk about.”
Developing a common language is a key part of the course for the two nursing faculty members. They have found themselves using specific frameworks addressed in the course, such as calling in, in their professional circles. Mahy says a common language “gets everyone on the same page,” making it easier to address certain situations.
Anti-Oppression Advocacy: a Soft Skill Everyone Should Have
With many industry organizations encouraging or even requiring professional development hours, there’s no reason to pass up on Grounding Anti-Oppression and its sister course Weaving Relations. With a newfound understanding of ourselves and our relationships, we can navigate the workplace in a way that is not only fair and equitable, but just and kind to all.
As soft skills have their renaissance, it’s your chance to position yourself as a knowledgeable leader in whatever profession you’re in. Anti-oppression advocacy is not just for right now. As an important principle in UBC Equity and Inclusion’s strategic plans, captured through the StEAR Framework, it’s a toolkit that will take you into the future, no matter where you go.
Get started by enrolling in Grounding Anti-Oppression now.
