Exploring Discrimination Experienced Among Pediatric-Focused Nurse Practitioners: Implications for Practice, Wellbeing, and Child Health.

INTRODUCTION: Discrimination can lead to negative impacts on health and well-being having widespread effects on healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of everyday discrimination within a group of pediatric-focused nurse practitioners (NPs). METHODS: The Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) assessed experiences of discrimination. The survey included demographics and the validated 10-item EDS scale. Frequency and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate and summarize results. RESULTS: Discrimination experiences were ubiquitous in this study. Demographics of the sample were more diverse than the known demographics of the pediatric-focused NP workforce. Role differences included more participants from academia and more pediatric acute care NPs than other studies describing the pediatric-focused NP workforce. CONCLUSIONS: Discrimination experiences in the pediatric NP workforce need further research to understand the impact on burnout, wellbeing, and child health outcomes.