Embracing Diversity in Healthcare: A Nursing Perspective

Globalization and immigration are two major forces increasing cultural diversity around the world. Technological advancements, increasing international travel, and ethnic strife in countries such as Syria are some of the factors contributing to this trend. As a result, most individuals live in a multi-cultural society and are trying to preserve their identity while interacting with people from varying backgrounds. The health care industry is not immune to increasing diversity and to adapt, organizations and employees must learn how to provide culturally congruent care (Emami & Safipour, 2013). In this post I will define diversity, discuss the benefits of a diverse workforce, discuss the barriers to attaining a more diverse nursing profession, and describe how my cultural background affects the nursing care that I provide.
Definition of Diversity
Workplace diversity includes the attributes, elements, and differences that set a person apart from others in the work setting. There are many factors that influence diversity including age, race, culture, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, education and work

The more diverse the workplace population is, the more likely the organization will be able to solve problems and make decisions because diversity brings with it varied outlooks, approaches, ideas and points of view. Staff members and leaders with different backgrounds can offer different perspectives when evaluating goals and unintended consequences from policy-making and procedural changes. For patients seeking health care, having a diverse workforce increases positive outcomes. Patients receiving care from someone with a similar background leads to increased satisfaction, increased treatment compliance, improved productivity, and a reduction in health disparities (Andrews & Boyle,