Workplace Diversity In Healthcare: Strategies For Being Proactive In Teams

Workplace diversity can be referred to as the variety of differences between the individuals in an organization. Diversity in the field of health care is normal as patients belonging to different background accumulate to get health care provided by health care professionals of different cultural background (Patrick and Kumar 2012). Different domains of culture enrich the knowledge of the health care professionals by effective communication and interaction that helps in the delivery of quality care ta diverse group of patients.

This paper would discuss about the type of diversity found in health care, the different barriers that can arise inside a team and the different strategies for being proactive in the team and address the conflicts in the team. All these topics will be discussed in the light of some health care settings. 

Diversity in health care is due the different types of patients coming from different cultural background. Furthermore the health care professionals of various domains of medical science can also be culturally different from each other. Increasing the diversity of the health workforce not only improves patient satisfaction, but also affects the health care utilization pattern and access of health care to the minority communities. While working in a health care setting I have often come across different kinds of health coworkers and even clients who are not only different from my own culture but are also linguistically different. Etiquettes that might not normal for one culture might is absolutely normal for the other culture.

Due to the complexity of the healthcare, the diverse population of the consumers are increasing. The discrimination act has paved the way of employment for the ethnic minorities in health care. A large number of health care professionals that has been appointed are or Aboriginal original (Wambui et al., 2016). The Australia health care system is also fair enough to provide equal opportunities to people belonging to different cultural background. Special provisions have also been made to provide opportunities for the people belonging to the LGBTQ community. Health care professionals belonging to different domains and practicing different culture have made the health care system so diverse. Apart from the religions and the races, diversity is also found in the gender and ages. Previously, the nursing jobs were stereotyped as jobs exclusively for the girls, but with the increasing consumerism the gender biasness have also decreased. A large number of males are now opting for health care associated jobs.  Considering the age related factors, the health workforce of Australia that consisted of the generations of the baby boomers are retiring and this is generating scopes for the fresher to join the health work force of Australia. The different legislations and the anti-discriminatory laws have increased the opportunities for the diverse group of people. In my health care setting some of the health care assistants are of Aboriginal origin. Their difference ways of thinking, ways to perceive life and the cultural practices makes our team, a culturally diverse team. 

Barriers to a Diverse Workforce in Health Care Settings

Being a culturally sensitive person I have understood that the different people have got different cultural taboos and beliefs and it is always not necessary to question the validity of any belief. For example, it is  known to all the Aboriginals have different cultural beliefs that might be unacceptable to the modern world, such as the concept of extended families , nature, influence of bad omen, role of the traditional healers. It is to be understood that such mentality might not be perceived comfortably by the other members of the team but any kind of awareness regarding superstitions can be made in a cultural sensitive and a holistic approach. I believe that respect, compassion and tolerance is the key element of a well-oiled working team and celebration of the differences leads to improved harmony at the workplace. I have understood that whatever might be the cultural beliefs of these people, respect and dignity is their basic right that destroys each time they are being subject ted to any kinds of racist comments. It is necessary to embrace anyone proactively who bring value to the business.

As stated earlier, the settings that has been considered in this assignment is a health care setting. A culturally diverse work force may pose several impacts that can also affect the patients to some extent. Some of the important barriers of a diverse workforce are negative attitudes, lack of employee involvements, language and the cultural differences (Chrobot-Mason and Aramovich 2013). It has been found that some of the employees in the my workplace is not very happy with the privileges provided to the aboriginal health care workers and keep on saying that why should these people get additional facilities on behalf of their ancestors who are the actual sufferers of the Aboriginal colonization history (Okoro and Washington 2012). There are employees that stereotype and assign labels to the people belonging to the ethnic minorities. Conflict of interest is also common in an organization consisting of a diverse work force.

It is necessary to take up certain strategies for making the diverse team to thrive. It should be mentioned that communication is the key to manage conflicts at the workplace. In order to stop any kind of racial discrimination within the workplace, easy to understand workplace policies, information regarding the health and safety and the company ethos should be disseminated to all the employees. Any ambiguities or misunderstandings can be corrected. 

Strategies for Managing a Diverse Workforce in Health Care Settings

A friendly working lunch can be organized once in a week to facilitate the interaction between each of the group members where each of the members will be allowed to describe their culture to give a better understanding of their culture and practices (Barak 2016). Language interpreters can be used to remove language barriers and smoothen the communication process. At last but not the least it is important to develop cultural awareness within each of the team members. I believe that a self-understanding of our own culture in necessary to foster cultural sensitiveness among the other employees.

I am well aware of the various types of acts that can bring a person under lawsuit carrying on the discriminatory act. The Equal opportunity act of 2010 protects the people from discrimination in a variety of sectors. This is the law that prohibits every kind of discrimination against the vulnerable group of people at the workplace. This law has introduced a positive duty that requires all organizations to be covered by law to take reasonable and proportionate measures against any kind of discriminatory act.

Workers with diverse cultural background have unique experience and viewpoints that strengthens the productivity of the business. Diversity if managed properly can be helpful in complementing the strengths and the weaknesses of the employees. Workplace diversity can be helpful in strengthening the employees and complement their weaknesses. Again workplace diversity helps in fostering creativity and development of innovative ideas.  Again diversity in the field of health care and nursing are important as it provides opportunities to the health care professionals to provide a quality care to the patients (Barak 2016). Heath professional- patient communication is enhanced as the healthcare providers bridges the difference between the culture of medicine and the practices and the beliefs making up the value system of a patient. Many cultural groups such as gay or the lesbian individuals or those with disabilities or those with beliefs unfamiliar to the health care practitioner, those belonging to low socio-economic status are always underserved due to multiple reasons. It is the lack of diversity and the inclusion of the health care professionals, which is one of the reasons these groups receive inadequate medical care.  A diverse workforce in a health care setting also helps to provide care to patients from different cultural background. For example an aboriginal nurse probably understands the patient’s culture, customs, food habits and the religious views of an Aboriginal patient and is therefore more capable in addressing their needs.   

Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion it can be said that inclusion and diversity facilitates the combination of different cultures and perspectives that brings about greater collaboration, innovation and creativity that leads to greater patient care and satisfaction. In spite of this knowledge, people belonging to diverse group of population are subjected to discrimination within the workplace. Hence some of the recommendations that can be proposed to handle a culturally diverse work force-

• Reviewing the workplace policies and the laws related to discrimination at workplace.
• To educate the other team members about cultural safety and their importance in the maintenance of a team and providing care to the patients.
• To keep a check that that no discriminatory acts or comments takes place within the premises.
• To recognize, respect and appreciate the diversity by the preservation of the basic human rights of these culturally diverse group of people. 

References

Barak, M.E.M., 2016. Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage Publications.

Chrobot-Mason, D. and Aramovich, N.P., 2013. The psychological benefits of creating an affirming climate for workplace diversity. Group & Organization Management, 38(6), pp.659-689.

Okoro, E.A. and Washington, M.C., 2012. Workforce diversity and organizational communication: Analysis of human capital performance and productivity. Journal of Diversity Management (Online), 7(1), p.57.

Patrick, H.A. and Kumar, V.R., 2012. Managing workplace diversity: Issues and challenges. Sage Open, 2(2), p.2158244012444615.

Saxena, A., 2014. Workforce diversity: A key to improve productivity. Procedia Economics and Finance, 11, pp.76-85.

Wambui, T.W., Wangombe, J.G., Muthura, M.W., Kamau, A.W. and Jackson, S.M., 2013. Managing Workplace Diversity: A Kenyan Pespective. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(16).