Scenario 001: A patient’s brother says something Islamophobic to a team member

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Scenario:

You are in a room with a patient, the patient’s brother, and the Patient Care Technician, Jamila, who wears a hijab. The brother asks Jamila, “Does your husband make you wear that hijab?” 

1) Impact: How might this interaction affect the individuals involved?  Who might it harm? Why? Why does this matter? 

  1. The PCT likely feels unwelcome and othered for her choices. She probably feels like the Patient’s brother assumed things about her religion and autonomy based on her clothing. She might feel the need to justify or explain her beliefs and background in order to defend herself. Her role as someone who cares for the patient might also make this an awkward interaction. 
  2. How it impacts her will of course depend on who she is as an individual and how she has learned to cope with these sorts of experiences.  In general, such an experience – combined with other insults and slights that accumulate over time – may contribute to higher burnout, less feelings of inclusion and belonging, stress, depression, and lower levels of job satisfaction.  

2) Intervention: If you were to intervene to address the potential harm caused… 

  1. What might you do or say? 
    1. “That is disrespectful to Jamila. Can we focus on your sibling’s care instead?” 
    2. “I am curious why you are asking her that question/saying these offensive things”   
    3. You could let Jamila have a moment and step outside if she would like. You could also approach her afterwards, tell her you noticed the comment or question, and ask her if she would like you to speak up if something like that were to happen again. You could provide her with some validation that such experiences are unfair and possibly exhausting, and you could offer her your genuine appreciation for her. 
    4. You could approach the patient’s brother afterwards and explain their mistake to them. 
  2. What obstacles might get in the way of you intervening? 
    1. You may feel that the incident happens too quickly for you to figure out what to say or do.  Then it becomes awkward for you to say something.  
    2. You may be unsure what Jamila would want you to do.  Maybe she does not want you to intervene on her behalf?  In this case, you could still talk to her afterwards, ask her what she would have wanted, and offer validation. 
    3. You may not want to interrupt or distract from the urgent clinical care of the patient. In this case, you could still talk to the individuals involved afterwards. 

3) Repair: If you are the “offender”, how can you apologize or accept feedback? 

  1. You may say, “I’m sorry, that was an inappropriate question based on stereotypes. I’m sorry, Jamila.”  We include this option because such an apology would likely be received as a very meaningful and authentic, although we also recognize that it would be hard for an offender to recognize and admit to this bias so quickly.  There is a skill to apologizing that is hard for most of us to achieve.  The best apologies are ones in which the offender takes direct responsibility for their behavior that caused the harm, as in this example. For more information on apologies, consider this excellent book. 
  2. You may say, “I’m sorry Jamila, that was rude of me to ask” 

4) More Information: Additional comments and background information about this scenario:

  1. This scenario may bring up important discussions about Islamophobia and stereotypes. 
  2. This scenario may also bring up discussions of intersectionality. Intersectionality is a framework used to understand how a person’s experience is a unique combination of their social and political identities. This combination can be both privileged and marginalized at the same time. In this case, although Jamila was a Muslim and a woman. 
  3. Although this may feel like a minor insult, it is important to understand the very real effects of Islamophobia that made it very hard for Muslim individuals to navigate their lives in this country.