Diversity In Healthcare Organizations Sample Paper

Importance of Cultural Competence In Nursing 

CULTURAL COMPETENCE QUESTION:

As a health care leader, you will work with people from different countries, different backgrounds, and with different beliefs. It is important that you respect and understand people (patients, employees, physicians, and all stakeholders) who are different from you, while operating in an environment of dynamic change and exceeding the standards of care that patients deserve. Review the Complete the Culture, Diversity, and Out-Groups in Leadership presentation, linked in the Resources. For this assignment, write a 7 page paper and include the following:

• Discuss the results of your cultural diversity assessment.
   
  
  
  • What was your score? Were you surprised by the results?
  
  
   


• Describe areas of improvement of your cultural diversity skills.
   
  
  
  • Discuss at least two areas of improvement that you would like to focus on over the next year.
  
  
   


• Analyze the relationship between cultural competence and teamwork and collaboration.


• Distinguish between cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural competence, and cultural sensitivity. 
   
  
  
  • Why is it important for a health care leader to understand each?
  
  
   


• Explain how verbal and non-verbal communication may be misunderstood due to cultural differences.
   
  
  
  • How can a health care leader minimize these misunderstandings?  


 

Additional Requirements

• Length: A minimum of 7 double-spaced pages, not including title and reference pages.


• Font and font size: Arial, 12 point.


• References: Cite at least three references from peer-reviewed journals, in addition to your text


• Format: Use current APA style and formatting.

CULTURAL COMPETENCE ANSWER:

Cultural Competence

Every country has individual cultural diversities and backgrounds with also different customs and beliefs. In a healthcare society, it is essential to understand that and respect while trying to help them in any way. The assessment of the outgroups was a puresuccess as one was able to gauge themselves where they are placed.

What was your score?

Sixty being the score, thoughts were that helping out-group members is one of the aspirations one should have.Making them feel hailed and part of the whole group has always been one of the primary objectives. Listening is a skill which requires much learning. One should then listen and weight out what to answer in order not to offend any of the members. Being one of the traits exhibited, the results were not surprising. The score goes hand to hand with the leadership values and listening skills.

Discuss at least two areas of improvement that you would like to focus on over the next year.

However, the results depict how perfect the individual is; there is always a certain percentage of being wrong in any person. Firstly, decision making and critical thinking are significant areas of concern. Making concrete decisions that arise from critical thinking are areas of correction that should be considered. To make an appropriate decision, one should have a relaxed mind. This is what that leader lacks. They should work on being keen to listen to some individual concerns after that make decisions properly. A person who can make decisions for themselves that can help a crowd is one intelligent person. On the contrary, it is not a bad thing to seek advice from fellow mates as it allows both to brainstorm about the issue appropriately(Hart & Moreno, 2016).

Secondly, a primary concern is being involved as a team. The most successful entities in this world come up when people team up together. For instance, holding such out group meetings(Boeing, 2013).This is the best way of sharing ideas with people who one entirely does not know. It is also a better way of showing the leadership skills and practicing them fully.The significant areas of improvement would be investing more in the teamwork and working on decision making and critical thinking skills.

Analyze the relationship between cultural competence and teamwork and collaboration.

To start with cultural competence, it is the way one can effectively interact with people from various backgrounds of cultures. It is a good thing since it ensures the need for each community member is well addressed. Also, it entails understanding the unique cultural variables from the different tribes and responding to them appropriately keeping in mind the full range of dimensions of diversity that a professional and their client would bring while interacting(Miziara, 2013). While developing cultural competence, it is one of the complicated processes which requires self-assessment and one to expand their knowledge every single day. It is a thing which requires time for its enhancement. First, one has to learn and know their own culture well for them to be able to learn other people’sculture. In practice, it is a way of being very responsive and respectful. Organizations and individuals can be culturally competent(Miziara, 2013).

To ensure that every member of a community is included, and even present, an organization should practice cultural competence. It is vitalfirst to understand the needs, protective factors and risks that a community has. This would ensure that the program would not be wasted. Also, a workforce that is willing and able to work would yield better results. Thus, cultural competence is a personal callingwhereby only people with the desire should work on it(Pozgar, 2014).

Secondly, we talk about how important it is to be in a team. Coming up together and sharing ideas with one another is a healthy thing particularly in health care organization(Hart & Moreno, 2016). Teamwork is vital while treating patients, safety,and care of the same. While having out groups, it is also vital working as teams educating the crowd as a whole. As experienced in a healthcare organization, better services are well provided when a team of practitioners is working together. Same applies while working on out groups or any other function(Miziara, 2013).

First of all, teamwork improves the communication between members. As all the members are always destined to finish a specific goal, they will seek for that goal to be accomplished. Through teamwork, it would be easier. Thirdly, teamwork brings about a better working environment. Positive attitude towards what one does will boost the way other members would also work(Boeing, 2013).

The last aspect, collaboration is whereby members of a group team up with other groups to discover what they lack and through this, they are able to know their weaknesses or strengths. Collaboration is the significanceof success in any team in a healthcare unit. When physicians collaborate as equals, there is always patient improvement regarding the quality and outcomes(Miziara, 2013). Aside from that, the communication and coordination are also improved. Collaboration can be defined through some five significant concepts, partnership, power, sharing, process and depending on each other. Partnership implies being honest and having trust for each other while sharing involves working with a common goal(Hart & Moreno, 2016). For an effective collaboration to take place, all these aspects need to be well distributed. They help build the trust in one another and respect for each other(Pozgar, 2014).

We see that all thesethree aspects are a source of success in a team. One, they ensure that members are together and embrace the code of teamwork(Miziara, 2013). Secondly, having all the three makes it an excellent environment to work with. A successful team would ensure that they have a good communication flow, which can be achieved when teamwork, collaboration,and cultural competence are well linked together(Boeing, 2013).

Distinguish between cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural competence, and cultural sensitivity.

In nursing, any foundation of communicationbeginswith cultural awareness. It is the ability to stand back from oneself and become aware of own cultural values, perceptions, and beliefs. When we have to interact with other communities or people, cultural awareness then becomes central(Miziara, 2013). This way, people are able to interact with others, share ideas, interpret things differently. When one tries to make sense using meanings that make sense to them only would arise into misunderstandings. Lack ofawareness would also bring about misinterpretations. This is because our own behavioral rules would be projected on to others. In a situation where there is lack of proper knowledge, assumptions would be experienced rather than one finding out and getting to know the exact thing(Miziara, 2013).

It is better to assume differences until similarity is proven. If similarities are projected to places where they are not, acting would change it might be inappropriate. This is the main motive why we need to be aware of other cultures as well as our own very well(Boeing, 2013).

Secondly is the cultural knowledge which entails knowing about a specific community and what their customs entail. It may include descriptions such as cultural dimensions which would be in the form oflong-term relationships, power distance,uncertainty avoidance among many others(Pozgar, 2014).So far, numerous cultural models havebeen empirically proven and available for everyone each having their theory and variables behind(Miziara, 2013). In attaining cultural knowledge, the more theoretical models one is conversant with,the more they are equipped to do business and even relate to people with different cultures well.

 Also, cultural knowledge is concerned with thelogic that can serve to explain the behavior of people, why they have to act that way and why humans are the way they are(Hart & Moreno, 2016). In order to learn some individual’s behavior, one has to get familiar with economical, political, historical and societal information of that particular culture. Lastly,people’s habits and custom can enrich the cultural knowledge in us.

Cultural competence as earlier discussed is whereby health practitioners deliver their work and is able to meet the social, linguistic, and even the cultural requirements of their clients. The health outcome of certain organizations will be determined by how they can master the cultural competence of different communities. To improve this, they can create awareness and even train staff members about the competence(Pozgar, 2014). Also, introducing policies that are tied to that would indeed be a plus. While assessing a person, it is essential to know their background before a physician can examine them. This will help to avoid conflict which might be created between the practitioners and patients.

Lastly, aculturalsensitivity which is a cultural competence componentinvolves being able to understand the differences in cultures in people. Many humans are very conversant with their culture in a way that they would be offended if someone messes up with them. Most doctors and the healthcare staff prefer working in other countries from where they were born(Boeing, 2013). This is good since it provides the opportunity to broaden knowledge and experience in them. However, before working overseas, it is vital they be aware of cultural sensitivity. It so crucial because respect reduces the health disparities while improving access tohigh-quality healthcare which is responsive to any patient’srequirements(Hart & Moreno, 2016).

Why is it important for a healthcare leader to understand each?

A leader, more importantly, should possess all these cultural values since they are responsible for the entire healthcare unit. More importantly, therelationship between the leader and the employees would be strengthened. When employeespositively receive motivation, they tend to work better which in turn helps the organization in growing. Professionalism in a job is much important. To ensure that, leaders need to learn about each of the cultural terms. Besides, teamwork, collaboration,and competence would be wellunderstood courtesy of a knowledgeable leader(Miziara, 2013).

How verbal and non-verbal communication may be misunderstood as a result of cultural differences.

Every communityhas their own way in which they communicate with each other either verbally or non-verbally. Verbal communication is where people use their mouth to express something while non-verbal involves using bodymovements, signs languages among others in order to express something. In most cases, verbal communication is the one mostly used.however, in caesse where individuals do not get each other, a non-verbal language would be used. Also, specific forms of communication have different meanings. Let us take an example of nodding the head(Boeing, 2013). For some people, it might be a way of response while others take it a sign of being warned against danger or something terrible. Similarly, in different communities, one will find that different forms of communications. To start with the way people greet each other, it might be very different. While some people would prefer hugs, others would prefer handshakes while others would go for just speaking to each other(Miziara, 2013).

Body movements would be different in every community. While others despise it, others might embrace it.Among others including raising voices during arguments or while stressing out a point, making eye contacts among others(Hart & Moreno, 2016). Practitioners try to make eye contact with their clients so that they establish what the problem might be. However, some communities find this as being rude while some embrace the fact for maintaining eye contact. This shows how important it is to study various cultures and know how well they behave before being able to work with them(Pozgar, 2014). Another thing is not always to rush in making decisions. One should allow their patient to do the talking or the activity there after they can conclude anything.

How can a healthcare leader minimize these misunderstandings?

Again, leaders are tasked with entirely everything that happens in their organizations. From solving conflicts to ensuring that the company runs well(Pozgar, 2014). To ensure the misunderstandings are few, they can corporate rules and regulations which everyone can follow. Also, they can arrange for training programs regularly to enhance the knowledge of the people. Lastly, ensuring a good working environment would also contribute positively to their attitude. A positive attitude leads to an active working place hence misunderstandings would be minimal. Lastly, a leader should ensure regular rotation of their staff so that each member can be familiar with the other from communication to teamwork.

References:

Boeing, M. (2013). Analysis of cultural differences and their effects on marketing products in the United States of America and Germany. Hamburg: Anchor Academic Pub.

Hart, P., & Moreno, N. (2016). Nurses’ Perceptions of Their Cultural Competence in Caring for Diverse Patient Populations. Online Journal of Cultural Competence in Nursing and Healthcare, 6(1), 121-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.9730/ojccnh.org/v6n1a10

Miziara, I. D. (2013). Ethics for physicians and surgeons: consent. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira (English Edition), 59(4), 312-315.

Pozgar, G. D. (2014). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.