Objective:

To explore the experiences of microaggressions and discrimination faced by Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women in healthcare and their coping mechanisms.

Key Findings:

• Participants frequently experienced underestimation of their roles and competence, often being mistaken for support staff.
• Stereotypes of homogeneity led to assumptions about their knowledge and identity based on race, impacting their professional interactions.
• Discrimination was reported as significantly impacting mental health and workplace retention, leading to increased stress and burnout.

Interpretation:

The intersection of being both Asian American and female in healthcare leads to unique challenges, including gendered racism, which refers to discrimination based on both gender and race, and racialized sexism, which highlights the compounded effects of racial and gender biases, often overlooked in broader discussions of workplace discrimination.

Limitations:

• The study's sample size was limited to 25 participants, which may not fully represent the diverse experiences of all AAPI women in healthcare, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings.
• The recruitment method may have introduced bias, as participants were drawn from professional networks, which may not capture the experiences of those outside these networks.

Conclusion:

The findings highlight the need for increased awareness and targeted interventions, such as training programs and policy changes, to address discrimination faced by Asian American women in healthcare settings.