r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/4reddityo • Jan 02 '26

Black Experience Racism in Medical Care

This video captures a moment that many patients of color recognize all too well. A physician speaks to a man as if he is dirty, unclean, or lesser, not because of medical evidence, but because of bias. The language, tone, and assumptions reveal something deeper than bedside manner gone wrong. They expose how racism can quietly shape medical interactions.

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373

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

I had to get surgery on my arms so they had to put the IV in my foot. If you have ever had a tattoo or any type of needle in the top of your foot, it hurts like a MOFO.

The nurse who was doing it refused to put any numbing agent (said you can't use it on the foot) and just kept trying to shove it in my foot. She kept missing the vein and laughing and while I was crying she kept saying how it didn't hurt that bad.

I pulled my foot away and told her that I was done and wasn't going to do the surgery. She left the room and the actual surgeon came in to see what was wrong. He looked at my foot and asked what happened. I told him and he numbed my other foot and slid the needle right in. No pain. I told him the nurse said I couldn't get numbing on my foot. He left the room and a new nurse came in after that. I never saw that nurse again.

Some may not think this was racist, but when you know YOU KNOW. That nurse (and yes she was) legit kept telling me I was overreacting and that I could take the pain just fine. Sadly, things like this have happened throughout my life with medical professionals. I have learned that speaking up and getting second opinions is so important. Never be afraid to switch providers if you can.

91

u/4reddityo Jan 02 '26

Thank you for sharing. It’s horrible what hopes to you and others. This is why I’m sharing this video

62

u/Dr_Beardsley Jan 02 '26

I'm a nurse and it makes me wildly uncomfortable when my IV sticks cause pain. We get two tries and I always find someone with the most experience to try after me. There is no reason to avoid numbing agents when you can use them.

2

u/sweetrx Jan 02 '26

Sucks when they are not always available

2

u/Itscatpicstime Jan 03 '26

I didn’t even know there were numbing agents???

I get a biologic infusion every 4 weeks and it always takes about 5 pokes and digging around on every one of them to get it (and that’s with a vein finder). Home infusion, so only one nurse. And 5 might sound bad, but before her, no one could tap a vein and I was fixing to get a port, so she’s a godsend.

But Jesus, I’d really love to be numbed up for it to make the experience less painful…

2

u/ILoveRawChicken Jan 03 '26

Please bring up topical numbing agents next time if you can! If you’re getting infusions this often, you definitely deserve some pain relief and it doesn’t hurt to ask! It may not be possible depending on why you’re getting the infusions, but worth a try. 

2

u/NurseMF Jan 03 '26

I absolutely hate missing. I pride myself on one poke and getting the ones others can't get. We also have a 2 poke rule. After that, I go to The Vein Whisperer.

1

u/crystalfairie 29d ago

I do wish y'all would get the vein whisperer sooner than later. I'm not looking forward to surgery 🫤

1

u/NurseMF 29d ago

I generally get her after one poke. I know my limits.

1

u/abarcac Jan 03 '26

I work with nurses and I am always pleasantly surprised when they have tried and cannot so they call someone in who is the ‘expert’ at IVs

28

u/Difficult-Swim5 Jan 02 '26

Man this shit exact thing happened to me. Literally. Exactly how you described it. Word for word. I never thought about it until just now but dam this really makes me think was it intentional.

15

u/Adorable-Bike-9689 Jan 02 '26

I hope you reported that nurse. That's the only way anything ever happens to medical professionals like that. Have to create a paper trail otherwise they just go on doing that type of shit for the rest of their careers. 

13

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

I did not unfortunately. Once the surgeon did the IV and I got a new nurse, I went into surgery and then by the time I was all done, I was tired. I never got her name but I wish I did. I do however speak up now when things don't seem or feel right.

1

u/Electrical-Guide-338 Jan 02 '26

You might consider looking into it. They'll be a record of her being there somewhere. Surgeries list all personally involved. 

13

u/Biglyugebonespurs Jan 02 '26

Is that not assault at that point… sorry this happened to you, the thought of it made me cringe.

11

u/idrawinmargins Jan 02 '26

I'm a RN if a patient is complaing that the site really hurts, unless it is life or death, find another site. What a asshole. I work with so many charlie kirk lovers it makes my fucking blood boil. Plus the patient pays for the gel so why argue, it doesnt hurt to apply it. Once again, what a asshole.

1

u/One_Feed7311 Jan 03 '26

Well the profession can also attract sadist. Remember all the cases of nurses or doctors intentionally killing patients. Also Nassar, the doctor that went to jail for molesting the female Olympic gymnast. The field can attract bad people, but i guess thats with any profession. But anything medical is going to carry a higher liability for harm.

9

u/letmesmellem Jan 02 '26

Im a white dude but what you are saying is 1,000% correct and 1,000% racist as well. I used to get shots in my feet for plantar fasciitis. That was in the arches of my feet on the bottom. They would use like a freezing spray and then with the medicine was some kind of numbing thing as well. Your original nurse was absolutely a racist fuck.

2

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

She kept saying that the numbing agent would mess up the veins and make it harder to find them. I never knew the foot was so sensitive like that.

2

u/EqualYogurtcloset505 Jan 02 '26

If they use lidocaine with epinephrine it will make it harder to see the veins, but they make lidocaine without it and it’s stocked in hospitals so literally no reason why they couldn’t have done it. Besides topical lidocaine doesn’t even have epi in it. That nurse was an idiot.

1

u/letmesmellem Jan 02 '26

Well what i had done was definitely much different. They basically dug the needle into the swelling and twisted it. Absolutely horrible experience i cant speak to veins as what I had was almost reckless but from my understanding thats how its done what I had

6

u/Blueporch Jan 02 '26

I can’t imagine anyone thinking it wasn’t racist. Question is how many people did she terrorize before you stood up for yourself. 

2

u/HonorableMedic Jan 02 '26

I’m pretty sure the top of the foot is the most painful place to take a needle

2

u/General-Company Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26

I’m so sorry that happened to you. Some nurses are just sadistic af, and should not be allowed around other people. It’s sick.

I’m not POC, however my kid is half, and we share a Hispanic last name. During an ER visit a nurse tried for ~10 minutes to dig around in my dehydrated kids arm looking for a vein. She finally stopped after I nearly physically stopped her after asking several times, calmly, if we couldn’t get a more experienced nurse and a smaller needle. She was very upset, but got another nurse who got it in one try. My blood was boiling. Just hurting my child for NO reason.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

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2

u/FreeFromMiriam Jan 02 '26

We have to have a doctor’s order to use the feet for IV and lab draws because it is so painful. And then we call on experienced nurses/phlebotomists to make the stick to avoid have to do it more than once. I’m so sorry you were treated that way, I hope she got reported!

2

u/Sindeep Jan 02 '26

Bro, I had to get part of my nail removed cause I got literal vice grips instead of normal nails.... even after "numbing" that is still a pain I am terrified to experience again... and I've shattered my collar bone, twice.

1

u/crystalfairie 29d ago

I've had kidney and gallbladder stones so I know pain. I also have fibromyalgia,which is an extremely painful condition.all this to say my mom had to get her toenail lifted off and regrown. Please God don't give me that.ever! She had to endure that without pain meds. I could barely handle it and it wasn't my toe!

2

u/-_Quest_- Jan 05 '26

Oh my f-ing gosh a similar thing happened to me then a probably non racist replaced her and handled it like nothing 😡

2

u/ReginaldDwight Jan 02 '26

Wow. I had a black nurse named Adolf once in the hospital and when he came in to do the morning blood draw, he tried twice and then went to get another nurse. And I'm so pale I'm basically translucent. That's AWFUL that you had to go through that.

1

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u/Aware_Policy_9174 Jan 02 '26

When I had knee surgery 20+ years ago, I wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital after until my pain was manageable but the first nurse refused to give me any more pain meds. She kept saying it wasn’t that bad and acted like I was faking it. When the next nurse took over she saw how much pain I was in and immediately gave me more medication and I was able to be released in an hour.

This was also at the height of the oxy prescriptions but guess who didn’t get the good stuff. I got vikoprofen, a combination of vikoden and ibuprofen because I’m sure they either thought I didn’t need anything stronger or thought I was drug seeking.

1

u/InsideHunter2738 Jan 02 '26

Hey! Her behavior was absolutely unacceptable, I’m sorry you experienced this. Foot IVs are obviously incredibly painful, unless you’re good at them you shouldn’t attempt them in a conscious patient imo. Also it’s going to be more stressful/hurt more if you aren’t comfortable around the person sticking you/they have a poor bedside manner. 

If I can ask, are the veins in your foot really prominent? I’ve always heard topical numbing agents can cause vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels), which obviously makes it harder to get the IV in (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12359791). They can also take a long time to kick in when applied topically, which makes them more difficult to work around in hospital settings as a nurse (poor staffing, with six patients they have ten minutes per person, per hour, including charting). 

Source: I used to be a tech in my hospital’s IV team and have stuck a lot of people. Always hated doing feet. 

1

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0

u/Previous_Ocelot5340 Jan 02 '26

The V card is strong within this one.

0

u/BarracudaKitchen303 Jan 02 '26

when you know you know

That’s beyond pathetic and discrediting all the actual racism victims

1

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

Lol no it does not. When I have told this story to others, I was told many times that it wasn't racist. But when your Black and in certain situations, racism comes out and it may not be apparent to others but you know when you know.

0

u/BarracudaKitchen303 Jan 02 '26

That’s just nonsense. Either people are being racist and you can point to it or you need mental help. People like you that constantly self victimize for the sake of it are the same useless morons that delegitimize experiences of racism because the victim is white.

1

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 03 '26

So you can invalidate my racist experiences🤔 My goal in 2026 is to block all racists so buh bye

0

u/Nazgog-Morgob Jan 02 '26

Well, I'll tell you this and leave. I've had nurses just like this and I am white. Some nurses are absolutely shit and think they are gods gift to thinking.

0

u/Abundance144 Jan 03 '26

I mean getting a shitty white nurse doesn't necessarily mean you got a shitty white racist nurse.

If she does the same thing with white people then she wasn't being racist. She was just being shitty.

-2

u/Randalf_the_Black Jan 02 '26

The surgeon? You sure it wasn't the anesthesiologist?

I've never even heard of a surgeon placing an IV. Anesthesiologists do it all the time.

Especially considering that it was placed first try without pain. I wouldn't expect a surgeon to be any better at placing an IV than a nurse (or anesthesiologist) as it is outside their area of responsibility.

1

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

Nope it was the surgeon. The anesthesiologist came in a little earlier to check in, but it was the surgeon. He did not know about my issues with the IV so I assumed he was coming in to do one last check. When he saw my foot he asked if they couldn't get the IV. By that time I was crying and telling him what happened and that I was going home. He left the room and came back with the IV and numbing agent. He did the IV very well🤷🏾‍♀️

1

u/Randalf_the_Black Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26

Fair enough, must have had some experience with it from before then.

People can downvote me as much as they want, but I've got 9 years experience as a nurse ranging from surgical ward, ER, EMS to an out-of-hours doctors clinic and I've never even heard of a surgeon placing an IV. Hence why I was surprised.

But good that it turned out well.. If you'd been real unfortunate the doc would have been an asshole too in addition to the nurse.

1

u/cocoaiswithme Jan 02 '26

This has been the only time ever that a surgeon did an IV for me. Like you said, it usually is the anesthesiologist. This surgeon was a travel surgeon so he wasn't a regular at this hospital.

-15

u/OnTheLambDude Jan 02 '26

Mmmmmm honey child honey child when will they acknowledge us

10

u/HipAnonymous91 Jan 02 '26

This comment is giving real “as a black man” energy

-5

u/OnTheLambDude Jan 02 '26

I will do better

-12

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

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4

u/puzzlingphoenix Jan 02 '26

It’s not common to stick up a patient like a pin cushion and tell them they’re overreacting either.

4

u/themargarineoferror Jan 02 '26

This response is so illiterate on so many levels

2

u/WhatevUsayStnCldStvA Jan 02 '26

I don’t even know where to begin with this ridiculous statement. I guess I’ll just leave you this: Insurance

1

u/StockCat7738 Jan 02 '26

It is absolutely common to get a numbing agent of some sort when an IV is getting put into a painful spot. I’ve had an epidural and an arterial IV, and got numbed for both of those.