Book by Donna Fletcher, her story written in the third-person presentation as Debbie from her newly published book “Blacklisted in Scrubs.”
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from youarewithinthenorms.com
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L. CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., INC., SPIRIT OF REV. IN THE SPIRIT OF WALTER R. CLEMENT BS., MS, MBA. HARVEY JENKINS, MD, PH.D., IN THE SPIRIT OF C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., M.B.A., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., EVELYN J. CLEMENT, IN THE SPIRIT OF WALTER F. WRENN III., MD., JULIE KILLINGSWORTH, RENEE BLARE, RPH, DR. TERENCE SASAKI, MD LESLY POMPY MD., CHRISTOPHER RUSSO, MD., NANCY SEEFELDT, IN THE SPIRIT OF WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., NEIL ARNAND, MD., RICHARD KAUL, MD., IN THE SPIRIT OF LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, AISHA GARDNER, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NJOKU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
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Summary
The book “Blacklisted in Scrubs” is dedicated to Black and Brown nurses who have faced discrimination and challenges in the healthcare profession. It highlights the experiences of Debbie, a nurse who faced discrimination and was placed on a “Do Not Return” (DNR) list, leading to her blacklisting and career setbacks. The book calls for systemic reform, transparency, and accountability to address discrimination and ensure a stable and equitable healthcare workforce.
This book is dedicated to every Black and Brown nurse who ever walked into a patient’s room with compassion and left their shift carrying silent pain.
To the nurses of history who’ve begun the struggle for the racial equality in nursing whose work I’d like to build upon, Mary Seacole and Mary Mahoney, To the seasoned professionals over 40 — the mothers, aunties, mentors, and sisters — who were told they were “too experienced,” “too strong-willed,” or “no longer a fit,” I see you. I am you.
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I want to acknowledge the many nurses who reached out to me over the years — sometimes quietly, sometimes in tears — to say, “Me too.” Your stories gave me the strength to keep fighting, to write, and to believe that our silence no longer serves us.
To my family and children, who witnessed my struggles and stood beside me when I had to rebuild from scratch — thank you for your patience and your love. You were my reason to rise again.
To the founders and freedom fighters before me, and the nurses whose names we may never know but whose labor built this system: your sacrifices were not in vain.
The Nursing Calling
I would like to share additional details regarding the foundational experiences of the Registered Nurse featured in the upcoming ebook, Blacklisted in Scrubs. These insights illustrate the lifelong dedication and professional discipline that have characterized her career.
Debbie’s journey into nursing began at age twelve, when she served as a primary caregiver for her aunt. This early experience instilled a profound sense of compassion that has defined her professional identity for decades.
Her formal entry into the field was driven by a strong aptitude for health sciences and mathematics, leading her to transition from pre-medicine studies to nursing through a hospital-sponsored program in New York City. Despite the challenges of being a new mother, she successfully completed her education and passed the State Board Exam on her first attempt.
Notably, Debbie began her career during the height of the AIDS epidemic, working at a facility specialized in caring for immunodeficient patients. This experience reinforced her strict adherence to protocol and her commitment to the nursing oath to provide compassionate care and “do no harm.”
Her background further highlights the ethical contradictions of “Do Not Return” (DNR) lists. It is difficult to reconcile such exclusionary practices with the career of a professional who has consistently demonstrated resilience, expertise, and a deep-seated commitment to patient welfare.
At the core of her practice is a profound dedication to the health and well-being of others. She views the impulse to provide care as a universal human trait, disciplined through rigorous training. Her expertise and professional presence were so respected by those she served that patients frequently referred to her as “Doctor” while she was in uniform.
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It is particularly troubling to reconcile this level of dedication with the systemic barriers currently facing the profession. The discriminatory use of “Do Not Return” (DNR) lists is not only a professional injustice to individual nurses but also a significant contributor to the national nursing shortage. By sidelining experienced and compassionate professionals through arbitrary blacklisting, the healthcare system further exacerbates the staffing crisis.
Debbie looks forward to your thoughts on how we can continue to highlight these issues and advocate for necessary industry reform.
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Debbie’s career began as a MedSurg nurse, where she balanced the demands of a new profession with raising two young children. During those foundational years, she was recognized for her clinical expertise and commitment to patient care. Her transition into travel nursing, specifically within Emergency and Critical Care units, was driven by a genuine calling to make a difference in the lives of a diverse patient population.
Most concerning is the impact this has on patient safety. The nurses frequently excluded are often those with the most extensive experience and specialized skills. When they are replaced by less-experienced staff who may lack the expertise to treat complex diseases, the quality of healthcare provided to the public is directly compromised.
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Hospital corporations have uniquely learned to pit one ethnicity against another to maintain labor control
I believe these details further underscore the urgent need for transparency and systemic reform to ensure that clinical expertise, rather than biased administrative lists, dictates patient care. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these latest findings.
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Experiences shared by other minority nurses—including a Filipino colleague, Debbie, who shared her experiences with a Filipino colleague who, surprisingly, was entirely unfamiliar with the concept of a DNR list. This interaction was a turning point; while Debbie assumed such lists were common knowledge, she soon realized the lack of transparency surrounding them is a key component of their exclusionary power. Her subsequent inquiries revealed a troubling pattern: Black nurses were being strategically placed on these lists and removed from the bedside, while other demographics remained.
Most concerning is the impact this has on patient safety. The nurses frequently excluded are often those with the most extensive experience and specialized skills. When they are replaced by less experienced staff who may lack the expertise required to treat complex diseases, the quality of healthcare provided to the public is directly compromised.
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I believe these details further underscore the urgent need for transparency and systemic reform to ensure that clinical expertise, rather than biased administrative lists, dictates patient care. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these latest findings.
The current DNR policy embedded in our healthcare system are outdated, often predating the Civil Rights Act and the establishment of the EEOC. To ensure public safety and the integrity of the workforce, we must move toward a system of true accountability in which workers receive the necessary training and support to prevent discrimination.
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Approximately 263,870 vacant Registered Nurse (RN) positions across the United States.
Approximately 263,870 vacant Registered Nurse (RN) positions across the United States. Despite this critical need, over 21,600 positions remain open on a monthly basis,” as qualified professionals continue to be sidelined by arbitrary blacklisting practices
These figures underscore the urgent need for reform. We cannot hope to resolve the staffing crisis while simultaneously allowing subjective and biased placement on DNR lists to drive experienced nurses out of the profession. Ensuring industry accountability is essential to maintaining a stable and equitable healthcare workforce.
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29 Years in Scrubs: A Career of Service
I hope you are doing well. Building on our previous discussions about the upcoming ebook, Blacklisted in Scrubs, I would like to share further insights into the early professional challenges Debbie faced, specifically during her time in California from 2003 to 2024.
Debbie took great pride in her profession, viewing her work not just as a career, but as a means to provide a stable life for her children. However, her first travel assignment in Hemet, California, revealed the systemic fragility and lack of cultural competence that often plague nursing management. Despite having ten years of nursing experience and a specialized background in ICU care, she was blindsided when her contract was terminated prematurely after only one week.
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The justification for this termination was both trivial and unsubstantiated. Debbie later discovered she had been reported for supposedly disposing of a container in the wrong receptacle—an allegation she was never given the opportunity to address.
In reality, she had proactively sought guidance on proper disposal protocols during her orientation. This decision left her stranded three thousand miles from home with two young children, highlighting how a professional career can be derailed by subjective reporting and a lack of administrative accountability.
Despite her extensive and varied experience, it became clear that a long-standing career does not protect against being placed on a hospital “Do Not Return” (DNR) list.
These early experiences underscore a troubling pattern where outdated policies and a lack of cultural competence allow for biased decision-making. I believe this narrative is essential to understanding how “Do Not Return” lists and sudden terminations are often rooted in prejudice rather than clinical performance.
Despite her extensive and varied experience, it became clear that a long-standing career does not protect against being placed on a hospital “Do Not Return” (DNR) list. Debbie’s experience highlights a troubling trend: her composed demeanor, during emergencies—a trait essential for patient safety—was often misinterpreted by peers as a lack of urgency. While others may have reacted with visible stress, Debbie’s calm approach was frequently used as a pretext for professional criticism
It’s important to address the reality that such subjective comparisons between staff members, especially when lacking any scientific or performance-based evidence, are often rooted in racial bias rather than professional evaluation. Expecting all nurses to perform as a monolith ignores individual expertise and further facilitates the discriminatory use of DNR lists to exclude qualified nurses of color. These details further illustrate the critical need for objective accountability within healthcare management.
Debbie adamantly states that the policy known as DNR or DNS is systemic discrimination and an unlawful application of workplace policies in the healthcare industry. Current practices often facilitate bias and retaliation, failing a workforce that deserves professional integrity.
We need stronger accountability for managers who violate labor laws and professional oaths by falsifying records, using defamatory statements, or using “Do Not Return” (DNR) lists to derail careers. I believe it is imperative to address these systemic failures to ensure professional standards are upheld without prejudice.
When managers and charge nurses implement practices that contravene established labor laws—such as falsifying records to terminate duly licensed nurses—they violate their professional oaths. There must be greater accountability for those who use their positions to derail careers through defamatory statements and the misuse of “Do Not Return” (DNR) lists.
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The threat of being blacklisted is a significant concern for nurses because the criteria are often applied inconsistently.
As noted by Genevieve M. Clavreul, RN, PhD, the threat of being blacklisted is a significant concern for nurses because the criteria are often applied inconsistently. Dr. Clavreul highlights that blacklisting frequently serves as a subjective, petty tool of retaliation rather than an objective measure of performance. This observation remains profoundly relevant today, as these subtle yet destructive forms of discrimination continue to compromise the integrity of our healthcare system.
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We must address these systemic failures and ensure professional standards are upheld without bias. “I look forward to your thoughts on how we can promote transparency and accountability regarding these practices.”
To many Nurses around the world, it was a proud moment to hear the words, by then World Health Organization, that 2020 marked the 2020 international year of the nurse. Black nurses, including registered nurses, licensed Practical nurses and certified nurses as members of the Healthcare team were the predominant caregiver during the deadliest pandemic in history.
Many nurses traveling will attest to the fact that they were terminated from their assignment, which became a vicious cycle in the twenty-first century. Imagine a nurse fearing that if they are selected as an applicant for that nursing job, they will literally get sick because the travel position could be canceled due to the DNR policy. Debbie said she’s frequently taken on these opportunities that ended abruptly for only one reason: her race. In the next book, other nurses will tell their stories. Countless other Black nurses in the community will tell their stories as well.
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Please report these violations to the proper authorities. If any nurse has been placed on a DNR list, it will not help their career. As a good nurse, like I know you are, you can reach out to appropriate support groups for help. No longer must nurses fear reprisal. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is an open door. Retaliatory treatment is unlawful. Every worker, regardless of profession, can go to EEOC.gov and make their complaint or line of work to establish accountability.
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Too often, nurses of color feel powerless and have nowhere to turn. Debbie recently assisted a nurse who was harassed and bullied by the charge nurse, who assumed the nurse had delayed care. No one has the right to bully another nurse. It’s a taboo and does not belong in the workplace. Bullying belonds on thei time and place outside of the workplace.
The nurse was asked to turn over her to a nurse with more patients than allowed by the nurse to patient ratio, allowed by the law. This is a power struggle in the nursing profession. Is amounts up tp violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because the nurse being bullied was Black and the instigator, the charge nurse was not.
The DNS is not only limited to nurses of color, but particularly to the Black nurses. That’s just the fact.. but it’s nationalized, thereby violating laws. As mentioned earlier, it’s impacted the profession and many careers. the wide gap in the availability of nurses to fill the openings available nationwide and is an injustice to medicine. . The DNR list is defamatory against duly licensed nurses. Databases maintained to, in my opinionin, blacklist the Black and Brown nurses in the United States. This is criminal in nature and there must be accountability.
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The Hidden Reality: Discrimination in The Healthcare Profession: Nursing
I am writing to share some historical context and research regarding the roots of modern nursing and its intersection with systemic racism. While Florence Nightingale is traditionally credited with professionalizing nursing and establishing critical infection control protocols during the 19th century, it is essential to acknowledge the racial biases that impacted her practice and the broader profession.
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Recent historical analysis, including reports in publications such as Cancer Nursing Today, highlights the story of Mary Seacole, a biracial Jamaican nurse who served during the Crimean War. Despite her expertise, Seacole was excluded from Nightingale’s nursing corps, which reportedly only employed white nurses.
This exclusion forced Seacole to self-fund her own medical efforts. Furthermore, scholars such as Anna Valdez from Sonoma State University suggest that the historical focus on Nightingale has contributed to a nursing culture that remains centered on whiteness.
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This legacy of exclusion continues to manifest in the profession today. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), 63% of nurses surveyed have personally experienced racism in the workplace. Additionally, data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicates a significant disparity in representation, noting that the number of Black and Latino nurses would need to increase substantially to match general population demographics.
Understanding these historical complexities is a vital step in addressing contemporary disparities and fostering a more inclusive environment within the nursing community. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we might incorporate these perspectives into our ongoing discussions.
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I recently reviewed an insightful article from Oklahoma City University regarding the history and evolution of the nursing profession. The piece traces the history of nursing from its ancient origins in Egypt and Greece to the pivotal advancements led by figures such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Adelaide Nutting.
This exclusion forced Seacole to self-fund her own medical efforts. Furthermore, scholars such as Anna Valdez from Sonoma State University suggest that the historical focus on Nightingale has contributed to a nursing culture that remains centered on whiteness.
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I found the discussion on the transition from domestic care to a formal, licensed profession particularly compelling. It also highlights the current opportunities and challenges within the field, such as health equity and modern staffing needs, and makes Debbie’s story all the more compelling.
Debbie has experienced huge losses because she was sabotaged by a conspiracy that used the DNR list to her detriment. In 2005, she bought a 5-bedroom mansion in California, where she resided with her children. Her job was in a hospital about twenty-five minutes away. This was perfect, compared to the hour and a half she’d been traveling to work at least three days a week.
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“..She’d been working in the ICU for 90 days and felt comfortable..”
Her manager was a Filipino nurse, and the charge nurse was Filipino. And overall, all the nurses on staff were Filipino. She’d been working in the ICU for 90 days and felt comfortable. She had been trained in the ICU at a hospital in the Southeast of the country, worked with the staffing agencies to take assignments independently, and had no write-ups. Her patients would recommend her. And she sees her patients always get well and transfer to a lower standard of care because they’ve improved.
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“..But the job she took in 2005 would not pass her probation..”
But the job she took in 2005 would not pass her probation. The Filipino nurse, who had been supervising, falsified her report and recommended that her probation be extended. She commented that this is typical of nurses of color, particularly Black nurses. She’d been treated the same way at that time while in CA. And she wanted nothing to do with this kind of disingenuousness, so she decided to quit. Good nurses are being discouraged or removed from public care. other assignment.
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Just a year later, at another position she’d taken, she was being bullied by the nurses who were placed in charge. These nurses were also Filipino nurses. They were unfair in their assignments, to the point that it was loud rather than subtle. She’d worked in the ICU and was assigned the first admission. Within hours, she was told she would receive a second admission. If a nurse’s patients are stable, it’s acceptable to refuse or ask for time to complete or stabilize current patients. So when I did the charge nurse reported me to the Supervisor.
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I was written up, and this is so against the state’s Nurses Practice Act. The acuity of my patients was high, and, for the patients’ safety, it was in their best interest. And the story goes on almost yearly. She’s calling on the Equal Employment Opportunity to begin investigating the actions of every hospital against nurses of color, particularly Black nurses. So many of these nurses are being terminated in broad daylight. This is criminal.
Major job opportunity was taken away in regards to nursing employment.each time after she was aware of being placed on the hospital’s DNR list she made a formal report to the EEOC as a matter of recording the incident and because its was the right thing to do Did discrimination is unlawful.
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While wearing scrubs and working, a nurse staffing member of the management team overheard a conspiracy to blacklist one of the nurses who was staffed through the nursing registry or staffing agency. The agency nurse pretended she did not hear the conversation. The morning after she left the hospital, the staffing agency notified the nurse that she was placed on the DNR list. The nurse did not report the violation because she feared reprisals and would not be able to get additional work with the staffing agency. The vicious cycle continues.
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In another impact from the DNR list being used in an abusive way, Debie mentioned that she believes that the hospitals must be accountable for the violations that she and other nurses were subjected to. The encounter is just downright evil. The nursing the public has known is not, she stated. But she went on the share that she was hired for a non-ICU job just to have a foot in the door. The family friend spoke to the unit manager, and she got the job. There was no interview because her resume spoke for itself.
On her ninetieth day of orientation, she returned to work after her day off and was on the schedule and assigned, but the hospital had revoked her computer access. The clerk was in charge, and the nursing supervisor was daft to the matter.
She said she was not aware of why this was happening. I was called the manager at home and the assistant manager, but there was no response. I decided to step back from the patients I was assigned to, as she did not have access to their records. To care for patients, all nurses must be able to access patients’ medical records.
I did not want to go home, which would have made sense, but the nurses could use my help, so I contacted the hospital’s help desk to get a temporary password and stayed on. She became fearful because the nurse supervisor was unresponsive to her employment opportunity.
She was tempted to leave at a second’s consideration, but decided to help out. She was the other nurse with their admission, and she was not given permission to pull medications, which handicapped her functioning as a registered nurse on the shift. It was odd, she thought. It is her love for what she does that made her stay the twelve-hour shift, while wearing scrubs.
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Debbie made it at the end of her shift and saw the manager and the assistant manager walk in together. After several minutes, they summoned her to the office. By this time, she felt a strange feeling because they were called about, and a message was left. She sat down, and her manager, a Caucasian male, had received the recommendation from the family friend. She trusted him because she’d never been written up while on probation. The first thing he told her was, ” You’re terminated she said. He said that HR was to be present. When asked for the reason, he blurted out, : You never told me that you were placed on the DNR list”.
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Debbie filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Commission after the incident. They investigated and gave her the right-to-sue letter. Sadly, the trend is that lawyers refuse to take these cases. From her experience, Black people seeking help from Attorneys in California often face refusal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does have a list of lawyers. That takes these types of cases, but unfortunately, the list was not shared with her at the time, for unknown reasons.
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The Equal Employment Opportunity in the United States means nothing to employers, such as the health care system that benefits from the tax dollars of the public, which include nurses of color and their families. Violations of nurses’ rights, like Debbie’s, are often condoned by many because their complaints are ignored.
In 2014, Debbie made a complaint to that???…pre-order “BLACK LISTED IN SCRUBS.”
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Dr. Rifia…. “struggle reveal that these agencies’ intrusions and overreaches are built on half-truths that support their foundation of Judicial Architectural Deception to imprison more medical providers with the utmost efficiency.”
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ALL WATCHED OVER BY MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE
BE SURE TO DONATE TO THE MARK IBSEN GOFUNDME DEFENSE FUND, WHERE THE SON ALWAYS RISES!!!
OUR TREE OF KNOWLEDGE SHALL NEVER BE SUPPRESSED
FOR NOW, YOU ARE WITHIN
THE NORMS
REFERENCE:
Coming soon to your audio electronic book library:
from Angela Green
THE PURGE
