It may be true that a greater burden of the responsibility for establishing healthcare diversity falls on hospital administration and HR. After all, those departments control much of the hiring, advertising, and recruitment within their respective institutions.
However, healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, medical assistants, etc.) can also play an important role. Here of some of the ways members of a healthcare staff can promote diversity in the workplace.
1. Create a Welcome Environment
Foster an environment of inclusiveness in every area possible. Make sure that all voices are heard, and that all coworkers feel safe to share their perspectives.
2. Address Issues of Bias Quickly and Openly
Often the victims of bias or discrimination are reluctant to come forward themselves for fear of repercussion or other forms of retaliation. Supporting co-workers in these times and reporting cases quickly and transparently are vital to creating a safe working environment for everyone.
3. Encourage Diverse Applicants
Do you know someone who would be a wonderful fit in the healthcare community? Encourage them to pursue their dreams!
4. Diversity for More Than Diversity’s Sake
Always remember, the point of encouraging diversity in your hospital or clinic isn’t to have a diverse hospital or clinic… it’s to have a better hospital or clinic. A diverse workforce can provide a rich array of experiences and understanding that can only enhance the patient-care experience and draw more success to your hospital or clinic.
5. Listen
Sometimes the best action you can take to promote diversity and creating an open work environment is by simply listening. Listening (without interjecting or suggesting fixes) helps each of us understand new perspectives, opens our minds to unseen needs, and shows co-workers or patients that their opinion matters.
Diversity Training
Another way to nurture greater diversity in a healthcare staff is through diversity and cultural competence training.
Diversity training helps by:
Increasing cultural understanding and skills
Teaching how to respond to cultural differences
Increasing awareness of personal and subconscious biases
Identifying potential barriers to care
Improve intercultural communication skills
While some hospitals may offer diversity training as part of their employee onboarding process or continuing education, this isn’t always a requirement, which is why it’s important for all healthcare professionals to take the initiative to better themselves—whether or not it’s required.
Workplace diversity training courses are common and can easily be found online but finding diversity training geared specifically for healthcare may take a little more digging (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic).
Check with your hospital’s human resource department for their recommendations. Or contact yours truly if you’d like to get started right away.
Diversity in Healthcare: An example from the Field
Building a diverse medical staff sounds great in theory, but what about the real world? Does a diverse staff actually produce better results for patients?
The answer is a resounding yes.
An example comes from the website thedoctors.com, which tells the story of a doctor who was able to use techniques learned during cultural and diversity training to reach across language barriers to help a patient heal.
A 62-year-old Dominican patient presented with hypertension. In the past two years, she had been seen by several physicians, had multiple tests to rule out any underlying etiology, and tried a variety of medications to control her blood pressure. Despite these efforts, her blood pressure remained poorly controlled. The patient, whose primary language was Spanish, had limited English skills but refused an interpreter at all clinic appointments. It appeared that the patient was nonadherent with taking the antihypertension medicine, taking it only periodically when she felt tense or stressed. Further inquiry by the physician revealed that the patient was illiterate and did not understand the complex medication regimen she had been given.
The physician was able to explore the patient’s explanatory model for hypertension using the [diversity training] approach. The patient strongly believed that her hypertension was episodic and related to stress. She didn’t take her daily antihypertension medication because it didn’t fit her explanatory model. The physician was able to reach a compromise by explaining that, although her blood pressure goes up during stressful times, her arteries are under stress all the time, even though she didn’t feel it. Taking medications daily would relieve the arterial stress but would not help with her emotionally stressful episodes. The physician was able to negotiate with the patient to add relaxation techniques to her daily routine.
Because of their diversity training, a doctor was able to provide care in a way that had before been impossible, and because of this, a life was quite possibly saved.
Diversity is Vital to Patient Care
Creating diversity in healthcare isn’t just important, it’s vital. Language, culture, and ethnicity can easily create barriers, and in an industry where lives hang in the balance and every second could mean the difference between life and death, delays and obstacles can quickly become deadly.
But diversity isn’t something that can be created overnight. It requires a leadership dedicated to increasing cultural awareness and inclusion. It requires co-workers who are willing to take the time to learn about each other. It means being willing to identify and address personal biases. And it means boldly opening ourselves up to discomfort for the greater good of our patients.
If you'd like more guidance in don't hesitate to contact me and get started right away.
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