Safety, Quality, and Informatics

Running head: EXEC. SUMMARY OF ORG. DIVERSITY 1

EXEC. SUMMARY OF ORG. DIVERSITY 2

Executive Summary of Organizational Diversity

Samantha M. Tallarine

Capella University

Organizational and Systems Management for Quality Outcomes

Executive Summary of Organizational Diversity

August, 2018

Executive Summary of Organizational Diversity

The field of nursing is such a broad field that can take its members in any direction of healthcare. There are so many different sub-specialties that nurses can partake in, and they have the opportunity to care for patients from all different cultural and spiritual backgrounds. When working in a hospital setting, nurses must be trained to deal with all possible populations in order to effectively care for their patients. Culturally competent care ensures that patients are receiving the optimal treatment they deserve. “Patient-centered care is much more complicated than what white papers and policies call for; it entails a consideration of what it really means to respect every culture as equal rather than for the dominant culture to dictate what is right and wrong. As a society, patient-centered care calls for some soul searching and accepting that other cultures have a right to exist.” (Ong-Flaherty, 2015)

The Impact of a Diverse Workforce on Patient Outcomes

Since the 1990s, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has supported and endorsed training its nurses in cultural competence. A nursing workforce needs to be inclusive of all cultures, but also needs to be inclusive all of all lifestyle types as well. The LGBTQ community is continuously growing, and we as healthcare workers need to educate ourselves on how to care for this population effectively. When patients deal with healthcare professionals who can relate to their culture, or speak their language it makes them more comfortable, and can promote a healing environment. “Non-English speaking clients may be more likely to keep follow-up appointments when working with health care providers who speak their language, contributing to better treatment utilization.” (Noone, Wros, Cortex, Najjar & Magdaleno, 2016)

A major transplant center hospital on the East Coast focuses their resources on providing an environment full of diversity and inclusion. They consider diversity, inclusion, and health equality as part of their mission statement. Diversity is defined as a variety of patterns which includes but is not limited to values, customs, differences, and similarities. Inclusion is a proactive approach to leveraging diversity by consciously inviting, welcoming, respecting, and engaging each other without bias. Health equity is defined as the results from delivering high quality patient care to our diverse patients and our diverse communities in ways that accommodate their cultural, social, and physical differences. The same healthcare center has also spearheaded a campaign for LGBTQ healthcare equality; they have implemented safe spaces, as well as adjusting policies to reflect the needs of, and protect the rights and privileges of patients, employees, and physicians as well as the surrounding community.

Integration of Multiculturalism and Diversity into Organizational Practices and Staffing

The organization being described has a very diverse workforce, and many of their department heads are of the minority population. During the hiring process, they take into account if the potential employee can speak any other languages. The hospital is in an urban setting with a high population of patients that speak Creole, so they strive to hire nurses, as well as nursing assistants who can help to communicate with this population of patients. They also promote a shared governance structure, and evidence based practice and research strategies.

In order to care for the growing immigrant population this healthcare organization has been changing the way they care for patients, as well as how they communicate with the surrounding population. They have just recently implemented community outreach programs that are run by bilingual physicians and nurses to ensure that all aspects of the health care process are being met for non-English speakers. In doing this, they are forming relationships and bonds with their patients, and easing them into the healthcare system. These patients are now reporting that they feel more comfortable seeking help knowing that they will not face a language barrier.

In order to provide competent care, a hospital should be using the systems theory to have a checks and balance within the organization. “A key principle of systems theory is that changes in one part of the system affect other parts, creating a ripple effect within the whole.” (Huber, 2014) This organization in question has recently implemented NetLearning competencies that need to be met by all employees. These NetLearning courses consist of HIPPA refreshers, LGBTQ training, gender equality, culturally competent care, as well as many other subject areas. These courses are assigned on a monthly basis, and are ongoing throughout your whole employment. In providing these ongoing courses, they are working towards ensuring their employees are constantly reminded of the standards they set for their staff, as well as keeping educated on the most recent policies that are being implemented to ensure competent care in all parts of the healthcare process.

Evidence-Based Proposals for Empowerment of a Diverse Workforce

In order to make sure the surrounding community is receiving the optimal healthcare, we need to understand not only their medical needs, but their cultural and spiritual needs as well. The main issue that they have experienced is language barriers. There has been such an influx of immigrants from all different countries, so the rapidly changing community needs a healthcare organization that adapts to their needs just as rapidly. Community outreach needs to increase, and the hospital needs to be aware of which cultures they will predominantly be dealing with. In accessing this information, they can then recruit staff specifically tailored to deal with their community population.

The organization can also look into implementing a clinical area that has specific days and times where non-English speaking patients can come receive preventive care from healthcare workers of the same descent. In providing culturally competent preventive care, we can help to reduce the amount of chronic illnesses that may be seen in the future. As far as on the multiple units in the hospital, leadership needs to continue to hire diversely, and make sure they are enforcing the continuing education of its staff members; especially on the subject of being culturally competent, and handling the LGBTQ community.

Conclusion

Culturally competent care is one of the most important things we can provide for our patients as healthcare professionals. One sure way to do this is to provide a diverse workforce, as well as properly educated staff. “In childhood, the culture in which we are nurtured influences our perspectives, morals, beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors.” (Ong-Flaherty, 2015) That being said, it is the duty of nurses and other healthcare workers to make sure they are caring for their patients in the ways they need and want. It is important to realize that you should not be caring for your patients the way that you would want to be treated, but in the way that they want to be treated. The healthcare organization that was evaluated in this paper has taken steps to ensure cultural competency, but there is always room for improvement. Until healthcare professionals are aware of the populations that they serve there will always be a gap between them and their ever changing communities.

References

Almutairi, A. F., Adlan, A. A., & Nasim, M. (2017). Perceptions of the critical cultural competence of registered nurses in canada. BMC Nursing, 16 doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1186/s12912-017-0242-2

Huber, D. L. (2014). Leadership and management principles. In Leadership & nursing care management (pp. 1-36). St. Louis: Elsevier.

Munro, E., & Hubbard, A. (2011). A systems approach to evaluating organisational change in children's social care. British Journal of Social Work, 41(4), 726–743.

Njie-Mokonya, N. (2016). Internationally educated nurses' and their contributions to the patient experience. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(1), B1-B9. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No01Man05

Noone, J., Wros, P., Cortez, D., Najjar, R., & Magdaleno, L. (2016). Advancing health equity through student empowerment and professional success: A statewide approach. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(6), 316-322. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.3928/01484834-20160516-03

Ong-Flaherty, C. (2015, October). Critical cultural awareness and diversity in nursing: A minority perspective. Retrieved from https://ac-els-cdn-com.library.capella.edu/S1541461215000968/1-s2.0-S1541461215000968-main.pdf?_tid=a87d670f-5dc8-438f-a263-6d75514bbeb8&acdnat=1534788103_77fbb7e180e5479ed7688b511cb0e317

Popper-Giveon, A., Keshet, Y., & Liberman, I. (2015, November/December). Increasing gender and ethnic diversity in the health care workforce: The case of arab male nurses in israel. Retrieved from https://ac-els-cdn-com.library.capella.edu/S0029655415002559/1-s2.0-S0029655415002559-main.pdf?_tid=b513174b-3ce8-4178-83ce-716f433dda13&acdnat=1534789230_aefce479a71b477c91689ee75bbf714e

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