“I don’t want any colored nurses in my room.” Probably something you’d hear 40 or 50 years ago in the United States. For some working in the medical industry, these are words they hear frequently - in 2017.

Many hospitals are forced to abide by these absurd requests. Not only to please the patient but to also protect their own personnel.

A Familiar Scenario
A video recently went viral of a woman demanding that only a white doctor care for her son at a clinic on Ontario, Canada. In the beginning of the video, the agitated woman can clearly be heard stating, “I would like to see a white doctor...You’re telling me there’s not one white doctor in this whole entire building?”

There wouldn’t be a white pediatrician in until 4 p.m., the clinic staff explained. The woman continued to complain, claiming that the "brown doctor” she previously saw did not help her child, who was suffering from chest pains.

“He was not speaking English. His teeth were brown. I do not need his help,” the unidentified woman said.

Though this incident happened in Canada, we have no doubt that similar situations happen in the U.S. The only difference - this one was caught on camera.

While the public was shocked by her actions, for many nurses, the scene was all too familiar. Racism from patients is a bit of an open secret in the medical industry and patients routinely refuse treatment from non-white medical professionals and nurses.

In fact, according to a 2002 study by Johns Hopkins University found that, when given a choice, most patients prefer a doctor of their own race.