Nada Hassanein (Picture courtesy of Alicia Devine)
When Nada Hassanein learn the press launch a couple of survey that make clear racism nurses of colour are enduring within the office, she seized the chance to jot down a narrative to present real-world context to the findings. In telling the story, the environmental and well being inequities reporter for USA Right this moment, mentioned she needed to “weave [the survey results] right into a type of narrative about nurses’ experiences.”
On this “How I Did It,” Hassanein shares her reporting course of for the story, talks about why leaning closely on information could matter extra for some tales over others, and provides suggestions for cultivating and constructing the belief that enables sources to open up about painful experiences.
This interview has been edited for readability and brevity.
You get this press launch and resolve that there’s a much bigger story right here apart from the survey. What was the next step? How did you discover the sources for the story?
First, I requested the [National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing] if somebody from the Fee — a nurse of colour — can be prepared to speak with me. And that nurse related me with different nurses that aren’t a part of the Fee.
How onerous was it for nurses to be candid about their experiences?
The nurses I spoke with had been fairly open and candid about their experiences. I believe they felt that somebody was listening and, subsequently, had been prepared to share their experiences.
How did you weave in context in regards to the career?
I discovered demographic breakdowns of nursing workers or registered nurses in sure states to indicate how they’re minorities or underrepresented. Being a well being reporter, I see loads of dialogue about racism amongst physicians and residents however much less so about nurses.
What had been some stuff you needed or regarded for to hit on context for this story? What had been some information units, apart from the variety of nurses of colour within the nation or by state, that you simply needed to incorporate within the story?
So, one of many sources spoke about how historical past is type of rooted on this type of segregation as with different fields. I additionally included a survey from the Health Resources and Services Administration that contained a breakdown of demographics amongst registered nurses.
Was there something that was difficult in regards to the story? Was there information that you simply needed that you simply couldn’t entry?
This was a type of tales the place I really feel like the data that I found, such because the demographic breakdowns and percentages in addition to the survey findings that quantified experiences by sharing the % of Black or Hispanic nurses expertise X, Y, and Z, I believe these kinds of information had been wanted.
The nurses’ tales converse louder than the numbers. I’m at all times on the hunt for good information and extra information, and I like that, you realize, as a reporter. However I’ve additionally come to comprehend that typically the collective anecdotal tales can make clear a dearth of knowledge as nicely.
Inform me about issues that shocked you when reporting on this story. For instance, had been you shocked that the Fee in all probability is the one entity that has good information — or any information — about this subject?
I wouldn’t say I used to be shocked. As a reporter whose beat focuses on inequities, I believe that I anticipated a few of the statistics I discovered. That doesn’t imply I wasn’t disheartened.
What different story concepts got here out of this story, if any?
I actually didn’t need it to be a one-and-done. I believe there are different points of lived racism experiences inside the nursing subject which can be nonetheless left to be advised, and different anecdotes that nurses shared with me throughout the interviews that possibly didn’t make it into the story, however that I want to discover additional and make clear.
One in all them was particularly about being a nursing scholar of colour. So not simply working as a nurse, however being a scholar and the dearth of illustration within the college. I alluded to that on the finish of the story, however there may be extra to be advised in the case of nurses coming into the sector.
What recommendation do you may have for individuals wanting to make use of that survey to jot down about this subject on the native stage?
My recommendation can be to hunt out native nurses’ experiences and authentically convey them within the narrative whereas utilizing the Fee’s findings to help what the native nurses say they’re experiencing. Give a nationwide context, however localize the difficulty, which is nationwide, proper? Simply be a human at the beginning and simply be current when listening to the ache others have skilled and the resilience they discovered to stay within the subject.
Whenever you had been deciding or excited about who to interview, did you need to interview nurses who labored in rural and concrete areas?
In order that’s one other story concept that got here out of this. I did need to discover extra in regards to the distinction between being a nurse of colour in a rural space versus an city space.
What recommendation are you able to give reporters about the right way to nurture sources in order that if that you must come again to them for one more story, they are going to be prepared to speak to you?
Belief is earned, and that’s at all times one thing to function by. I do know it’s onerous to maintain up with everybody you’ve interviewed as a result of we interview so many individuals. However, I believe that it’s necessary to periodically examine on individuals you probably did interviews with that had been notably weak or heavy. You don’t ever need somebody to really feel exploited.
Is that notably true in reporting a narrative like this one?
It is determined by the sources and their earlier experiences with reporters or journalists. And so, we’re all doing one another a favor by actually taking good care of every of our interactions.
Did this story make you suppose, “I ought to interview extra nurses for tales that I’m engaged on every time it’s acceptable and related?” And why if it did?
I wouldn’t say so as a result of I’ve interviewed nurses earlier than for well being tales. However, when masking well being tales, it’s necessary to be very deliberate about together with nurses and physicians of colour.
