Cultural Diversity In Healthcare

Ben franklin once said that only two things in life were certain, “death and taxes”. In healthcare, there is another certainty, and that is diversity. Whether it be the people you work with every day, or the patients you, diversity is there. Healthcare is as diverse as it is because it is a service that people from all walks of life, regardless of our differences, all need at some point. When working and interacting in such a diverse environment, a healthcare worker must always be conscious of diversity and how someone’s personal beliefs and culture will affect the way in which we render service with our patients. An organization and its employees must make a conscious effort to actively adapt to variety in patient backgrounds in eliminate

Diversity is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “The condition of having composed of different elements; the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization. (Diversity, 2017)” The United States has long been considered a melting pot of culture. With the United States becoming a melding point for peoples of all backgrounds, it has become a multicultural society. Each different demographic in the area a health organization serves has a significant influence on how the organization decides to operate daily. When looking at demographic in the community you serve, you can make certain assumptions about the needs of a community since certain racial or financial demographics of people are predisposed to certain conditions. For example, a hospital that serves a low-income demographic is more likely to see patients who are obese and thus know to spend more of their resources towards the conditions that are associated with being overweight (Why Low-Income and Food-Insecure People are Vulnerable to Poor Nutrition and Obesity). Moving past race and finances, you also have demographics that

As shown in the examples in the previous paragraph, cultural competency is on the rise and has become part of the standards for providing quality care (Cultural Competence, 2016). Being culturally competent is an ongoing process in healthcare. As the demographics of the community and its needs changes, so must the healthcare organization (Cultural Competence, 2016). Something as seemingly simple as an influx of Latino or Hispanic population in your community necessitates change in the surrounding health organizations. They would have to consider hiring more Spanish speaking nursing staff, doctors, or managers if they amount they had now would not be able to accommodate then influx of Spanish speakers. Moving your organization towards a more culturally conscience mindset is a very involved process and takes policies and procedures that support the mind set of cultural