The Impact of Anti-Black Racism on Black Undergraduate Nursing Students in Canada

The graduation rate of Black undergraduate students in nursing programs remains lower than that of their peers despite a notable increase in enrollment. Without disaggregated data, anecdotal and emerging evidence suggests student attrition rates are associated with unreasonable demands and unmet learning needs. Black nursing students experience systemic anti-Black racism from instructors, nurses, peers, and patients, which also contributes to their slow progress. These experiences impact equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education and nursing. We explored the experiences of Black students in the two undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan, Canada, to deepen our understanding of their needs and inform strategies for addressing anti-Black racism in nursing education. Using focused ethnography grounded in critical race theory and intersectionality, N = 26 individual interviews with current and former Black students from Saskatchewan nursing programs were analyzed using thematic analysis. Racist experiences reported by study participants were more prominent in clinical than classroom settings. Five main themes were identified. This paper focuses on Theme 1, "Racism is part of the culture in nursing," and its subthemes, namely racial microaggressions, racial stereotyping and accent bias, isolation and exclusion, unfavorable environment, and impact on mental health and well-being. Support and accountability measures in nursing education are needed to facilitate social justice.