St. Catherine's staff come from various ethnic backgrounds, but
approximately sixty percent of the staff are Catholic. At St. Luke's, the staff
diversity is low except for age diversity, but they serve a diverse population.
Most of the staff at Hickman are of one ethnicity. Unifying the department
will create a diverse HIM Department. It is crucial for staff to learn about
various cultures and religions so they can effectively communicate, work
together, and respect one another. This will also be beneficial for the staff's
interaction with patients.
It is vital that cultural diversity training is a part of the new staff orientation
because staff learn more about the organization and the organization’s
expectations during this time. Including cultural diversity training during
orientation demonstrates that the organization values diversity and
inclusion. It also shows that there is the expectation that staff must respect
other employees, patients, and customers. The training should begin with a
discussion of cultural norms, such as communication styles and behavior
that could be viewed as offensive (Oachs & Watters, 2020).
The training should convey that the organization creates and supports an
equitable workplace and fosters inclusion. It should address unconscious
bias. Staff may not be aware that they are judging others based on
stereotypes. Microaggressions can result from unconscious bias, and the
training will help identify the biases to stop them. It can also show staff how
to respond to microaggressions appropriately (Toll, 2022).
The training should also cover the benefits of a diverse workforce. A diverse
team has staff with different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and skill sets.
This fosters increased creativity and flexibility and improves critical thinking
skills. Staff with different skill sets can learn from each other through
mentoring and cross-training. Diversity in the workplace has been shown to
increase employee satisfaction and improve productivity (Todd, 2019).
The information should be provided in various ways as staff may have
different learning styles. The training can include a lecture style where a
presenter gives information, and it can also include written material and
exercises completed online. I think it is essential to include scenarios as this
brings the lecture and written material to life. If a group of staff are
attending the training, group discussion and working in teams is a valuable
tool for staff to get to know each other and learn from each other.
References
Oachs, P., & Watters, A. (2020). Health information management: Concepts,
principles, and practice (6th ed.). AHIMA, American Health Information
Management Association.
Todd, S. (2019, August 22). Workplace diversity effect on productivity
(benefits, difficulties and how to manage diversity). Open Sourced
Workplace. https://opensourcedworkplace.com/news/workplace-
diversity-effect-on-productivity-benefits-difficulties-and-how-to-
manage-diversity
Toll, E. (2022, May 25). 5 types of diversity training in the workplace.
Diversity Resources. https://www.diversityresources.com/types-of-
diversity-training-in-the-workplace/
