Knowledge
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve nationwide, patient demands and care expectations are changing rapidly as well. With increased pressure on providers and healthcare entities to deliver care that caters to the demographic population they serve, the staff hired that represent these organizations are more important than ever. The human resources (HR) department is traditionally responsible for developing system-wide policies and procedures, supporting acquisition, training, compensation, retention, separation of staff and to assist with any labor relations concerns (Longest & Darr, 2014). However, in today’s healthcare market, recruitment and retention of a diverse, competent and dedicated staff has become a top priority
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Ethnic diversity, often referred to as multiculturalism, can be defined as the existence, acceptance and promotion of multiple cultural traditions within a region, where members are challenged to preserve their own identity when interacting with members of other socio-cultural backgrounds (Emami & Safipour, 2013). Within the healthcare workforce, many organizations currently suffer from a disparate distribution of racial and ethnic minority employees in professional positions. Although there has been considerable emphasis on programs such as affirmative action, and more recently, cultural diversity programs, the progress has been slow. The importance of human resource policies and procedures, which set the stage for recruitment, cannot be overlooked in the development of diversity infrastructure (Flores & Combs, 2013). While the minority presence in the healthcare workforce has been increasing, research shows that the number occupying leadership positons has not kept pace. It is also important to ensure current administrative and clinical staff members are comfortable and prepared for the consistent increase of globalization and immigration in many regions of …show more content…
There are five elements that can contribute to an institution’s ability to become more culturally competent: valuing diversity, capacity for self-assessment, consciousness of the dynamics when cultures interact, strategies that are organizational, systematic and clinically based on the mission and goals and a willingness to adapt service delivery to reflect understanding of cultural diversity (Thorpe & Williams-York, 2012). Thinking in terms of how this applies to human resources, the first step to ensure an organization is valuing and supporting a message of diversity is with all human resource department representatives being aware of, trained on and committed to these values themselves. This is the department responsible for the hiring and initial training of staff on corporate culture and expectations. They are also where employees turn to for professional advice, reassurance on decision making and to report any unethical behavior. It is imperative that HR display actions supporting the corporate vision. Self-assessing is key in understanding the success or failure of implementing these strategies. Getting feedback from patients receiving care as well as employee satisfaction surveys are instrumental in human resource leaders determining where
Immigration and the minority population is increasing each and every year. With a growing ethnically diverse population, it is vital that nurses are sufficiently equipped for and able to work with patients in a way that identifies and respects their diversity.
The healthcare workforce is suffering critically due to its lack in diversity. As healthcare organizations are growing and the number of patients is increasing, so is the diversity of the patients. There are more minority patients are the number of minorities increase in the United States. The need for minority employees is crucial in that they are needed to help assist patients who have the similar cultural, racial, and ethnic upbringings. There are many barriers in healthcare workforce that are keeping minorities from reaching their full potential to become employees in healthcare, particularly upper-level leadership positions; as patients continue to become more diverse, so does the need of employees.
This essay will focus on outlining the fundamental principles of cultural diversity and how effective nursing interventions are used when providing an adequate amount of care for an individual from a culturally diverse background and how this may collide with the nursing therapeutic engagement. This essay will give the reader an insight upon culture whilst giving a significant explanation of cultural differences within a health setting. The patient’s real name will not be used and will be referred to as Mr. X. This is in line with the Nursing and midwifery Council 2008 (NMC, 2008) requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times.
The healthcare system within America reflects increasing numbers of cultural diversity and awareness. According to Holloway (2004), cultural awareness is defined as the deliberate, cognitive process by which health care providers become appreciative of and sensitive to the values, beliefs, practices, and problem solving strategies of the clients’ cultures. Cultural awareness include an examination of one’s personal biases. In order to understand cultural diversity, individuals must strive to acknowledge the prejudices they may already hold toward different cultures. On the other hand, cultural competence is a process through which health professionals can integrate their knowledge and skills to improve culturally effective interactions with clients (Tjale & Villiers, 2004).
Going to a different country or area of the world can open up anybody’s eyes to see that culture makes a huge impact on the understanding and practices of healthcare that seem to be so common to other areas of the world. When a person lives in one country their whole life, that person may not realize how different the life they live is from someone in a foreign country. If a person is going to receive treatment from someone with a different cultural background, they should be expected to get treatment to respects their own culture. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences having such a diverse variety of students has their own cultural competency definition that states “effectively and comfortably communicate across cultures with patients of differing backgrounds, taking into account aspects of trust in order to adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures”. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, the issue of culture and healthcare are greatly prevalent. Katherine Dettwyler herself goes to West Africa as an anthropologist and her horizons are broadened when during her research she comes in contact with how much culture has an impact on healthcare and everyday life.
research on healthcare practices in a culturally diverse setting has established the importance of cultural awareness, competence, and diversity for healthcare workers.
From patients not wanting people of color to deliver care to them and patients from different religion having difficulties with the value of care. Healthcare organizations are working tremendously to develop cultural competence in it facilities. An article titled “Why Diversity matters in Health Care?”, defines cultural competence as “the ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including the tailoring of delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs.” Diversity is one important aspect in the healthcare system because different people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions all seek care one or the other. Having this change in the healthcare system will really help deliver the quality of care to all patients. Strengths-based practices that will be effective in helping with healthcare diversity, will be to respect the differences of patients’ cultures and background. Also staffs have to be culturally sensitive about everything associated with the patients’ social identity too. Even with domestic violence that goes on among African American women, a patient who has been abuse can come into the hospital and staff must show respect and treat them as
Fred J. B. & Fottler, 2011.Fundamentals of Human Resources in Healthcare. Health Administrative Press, Chicago, Illinois. Print.
Cultural competence as defined by the American Medical Association acknowledges the responsibility of healthcare providers to understand and appreciate differences that exist in other cultures (as cited by McCorry & Mason, 2011). Moreover, it is the healthcare provider’s responsibility to not only become knowledgeable of other cultural differences, but to assess and adapt their skills to meet the needs of those patients (McCorry & Mason, 2011). Culturally competent healthcare providers recognize and incorporate cultural diversity, awareness, and sensitivity into the total care of a patient (Matzo & Sherman, 2015). Mr. L. is a Chinese-American man and it appears his culture is influencing his end of life (EOL) experience. It is essential
According to Andrews and Boyle (2016), having a diverse workforce provides a greater satisfaction among employees, which will result in higher retention of employees as well. By hiring a diverse culture within an organization this increases a workplaces economy and becomes a culturally competent organization. Otherwise, a high turnover can be very costly to an organization and the functionality can decrease. Many organizations have developed policies to help recruit and retain people from different backgrounds. When employees feel that they are valued because of their diversity, the employees will feel protected from discrimination, feel that there is room for advancement within the company, and increase employment retention (Kaplan, Wiley, & Maertz, 2011). With the increase of minorities across the nation, having diversity in nurses and healthcare workers to accommodate this diversity also improves the quality of care to the patients while also increasing their health outcomes and satisfaction (Ayoola, 2013). We have learned in the previous weeks that being able to communicate with our patient’s and understanding their culture can positively increase the outcome of the health. Having a diverse staff will also help establish trust and make them feel at ease. However, there can be barriers to having a diverse culture in the
Minnesota is a state with a rich, diverse, and evolving cultural landscape. In the past two decades, Minnesota has seen a significant increase in the number of children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Each of these communities is unique in their culture, values, and perceptions of child development and disabilities. A growing body of research reveals that significant health disparities exist across racial groups in early screening, identification, and diagnosis of developmental delays (CDC, 2014; Mandell et al, 2002; Shattuck et al, 2009; Zuckerman et al., 2014).
In the healthcare system, it is needed even more. Many healthcare facilities need to have their workforce diverse in order to reap benefits. In the 2000 U.S. Census, African Americans accounted for nearly 12.7 percent of the workforce, that number hasn’t increased exponentially today. Many minorities are underrepresented in the healthcare workforce, which can affect delivery of healthcare. Some benefits that many organizations see from a diverse work environment are: varied ideas, a larger talent pool, reduced discrimination, and more productivity. These benefits can impact the healthcare delivery system by improving quality of care and quality in the
Schein in his book “Organizational Culture and Leadership” explains how different believes and behaviors start to be logical when we understand their cultures by stating “When we learn to see the world through cultural lenses, all kinds of things begin to make sense that initially were mysterious, frustrating, or seemingly stupid” (2010, p. 13). This kind of foresight should be the starting point in order to manage the tremendously growing diversity in the workforce nowadays. Leaders and administrators of both public and private organizations through their influence are responsible to promote and manage diversity in an ethical manner.
Lee, W. K., Wong, V., & Judd, N. (2010, May). Promoting Diversity of the Health Care Workforce. Hawaii Medical Journal, 69(5), 130-131.
Today’s management in the workforce is composed of all types of people verses thirty years ago when white males held a majority of upper-management positions in companies. These positions are now held by a mixture of ethnic back grounds and women who hold just as many if not more management positions then men. Just by looking at the changes in management demographics shows how important it is for people to understand cultural competency in the workplace. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1999) stated, “Diversity is the collective mixture of whomever we have in our workforce characterized by their differences and similarities” (p.11). Managers and supervisors must understand the characteristics of a diversity mature individual; they also need to be able to articulate the differences between affirmative action, managing diversity, understanding and valuing diversity to build skills that transforms awareness into productive and supportive workplace behaviors.