Pulse - June 2021 - 13

personality to want to fight back. But other people don't and
I think this holds them back. "
He also said that bilingual workers are valued in practices,
especially when a client comes in who speaks only Spanish.
" They become really important and the hero of the day. But after
the client leaves, what that employee did is shortly forgotten. "
All of these and similar behaviors can have negative impacts
on minority employees, Stephen said.
On the ground in Southern California practices.
Melissa Garcia, the Lakewood practice manager, recalls some
ugly incidents with clients since she went to work there in 2007.
" A majority of the staff is first generation in this country
and most or all of them speak Spanish, " she said. " Before the
pandemic when clients were permitted in the clinic, we've
been told: 'Why are you speaking that language? We are in
America. You have to speak English.' We correct them pretty
quickly and, of course, nicely. "
Lakewood is a largely white city, with many older residents.
Younger whites are usually not a problem, Melissa said. " I
personally have been told to go back where I came from. And
we have had potential clients ask if we are all Americans. (We
all are citizens.) We politely tell those clients that it's better if
they find another hospital.
" We don't feel like fighting, if they are coming in with these
prejudices. Dr. [Jose] Arambulo, owner of the practice, is Filipino.
Most of the rest of us are Hispanic. We don't feel like dealing
with this at work. We have to deal with it outside of work. "
She said that this kind of prejudice has become more frequent
since Donald Trump brought his nationalist agenda to
the White House in 2016. " Now that I am in my 40s, I am
not very tolerant [of racism and prejudice]. I will snap pretty
quickly. There's no talking to these people or trying to teach
them. They're not open to trying to understand. "
" Before the pandemic when
clients were permitted in
the clinic, we've been told:
'Why are you speaking that
language? We are in America.
You have to speak English.' "
She also has been asked if the practice has a white doctor.
" I was polite. I told the client: 'If you had done your research,
you'd have seen that we are a one-doctor practice and he is
Filipino. There's a picture on our website. If you're not comfortable
with this, I am more than happy to refund your exam
[payment] and you can find another clinic because we are not
the right fit for you. "
Dr. Victor Ramirez, owner of the practice in Boyle Heights,
has found that the biggest barrier many Latinx professionals
face is dealing with their socioeconomic backgrounds.
" You don't know about simple things like retirement
accounts, what you should be paid. I think a lot of Latinos,
including myself, are less likely to request what they think
they deserve as compensation. It's also about things like opening
a practice or starting a business. These barriers are inherently
there because of our non-affluent backgrounds.
" When I was growing up, my parents didn't know what
the internet is - they still don't. The last thing they can do
is help me figure out what to do with a mortgage. It's not a
racial thing but the difference between someone from a family
that's been here a long time and knows the
con gtinued
" As a single mom, you can't afford to
Dr.
pay $600 and risk failing the RVT exam.
I knew my stuff but I was nervous about
taking that test. I finally took it and I've
been an RVT since 2014. I kick myself
now for not taking it earlier. "
She has a blended family with her
husband, a superintendent in a commercial
construction company. They have six
daughters, the two youngest together. They
moved from Orange County to Moreno
Valley with three of the younger daughters
several years ago " so we could have our
own home. We couldn't afford to pay the
rent in OC. The pricing for buying a house
was astronomical. "
She commuted to her OC job for a couple
of years but long hours in heavy traffic
took its toll and she moved to her current
job in Yucaipa.
PULSE
JUNE 2021
Silvia Grossi
Stone was born in
Argentina and moved
to the United States
in 1963 as a child
with her parents,
who immigrated
legally seeking a better
life for their two children and more
opportunity. After 10 years in Los Angeles,
she moved back to her native land with
her parents and eventually got her DVM
degree there in 1984.
But she wanted to practice in the United
States. That meant passing federal and state
boards as well as an English proficiency
test. " It's a long process, " she said. But she
had an advantage that many doctors who
come to America from abroad do not have:
she was already proficient in English. " I'm
completely bilingual. "
When she took the National Board
Exam in Sacramento, she recalled meeting
foreign doctors who were taking the
test for the sixth time. " For many of them,
that exam is very tough. They were all
extremely intelligent but not being proficient
in English made it more difficult
to understand the questions they were
asked on some parts of the test. I felt well
prepared by the veterinary education I
received at the University of Buenos Aires
to sit for those exams. "
Dr. Stone's parents had moved back to
the U.S. and were living in Denver when
she returned to the United States.
She
met her husband-to-be there, then followed
him to Seattle, after passing the
federal exam.
She worked in a Seattle practice for six
years but decided that she needed more
independence and time to
continued g
13
Pulse - June 2021

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