Caribbean Nurses: Racisms, Resistances and Healing Narratives

Abstract

In this chapter we examine some of the processes by which Caribbean-born nurses working in the National Health Service (NHS) construct their identities. We begin with a history of recent Caribbean migration to Britain and the occupational history of minority ethnic nurses in the NHS. We then consider sociological theories of ethnic identity formation, and introduce the source of our empirical material, that is in-depth interviews with 14 Caribbean nurses, describing their life histories of migration to Britain, their occupational careers in health services, and their experiences of civic society. Finally, we consider the role of narrative in identity formation and refer to empirical material from the interviews to illustrate our argument that identities are constructed in the context of potentially damaging life experiences, but may be ‘healed’ through the construction of preferred narratives.