One of the three topics in the instruction - Essay Example

Diversity In Workplace Diversity is defined as completely different forms of something and when it comes to employees or professionals then it means people who have different gender, cultures, races, religions, beliefs, opinions, etc. (Merriam-Websters Learners Dictionary, 2012). Workplace diversity in healthcare management is of superior importance because the healthcare professionals are required to deal with a number of patients from various backgrounds, beliefs and foremost, the different cultures. To give patients quality treatment, the management must have a diverse workforce to face the challenges that comes in the form of different races and cultures and results in poor services provided to the minorities. To cope up with these challenges the academic institutions and recruitment authorities should perform their responsibilities.
The American Dental Education Association has declared that the healthcare providers have failed to give proper treatment competent to the cultural differences to the minorities which call for a diverse workforce (ADEA, 2005). The healthcare providers especially the dentists should concentrate towards increasing the workplace diversity as it is the first step to strength the relationship between the doctor and patient.
The healthcare providers are somewhat successful in serving patients who belong to their own race or culture but when it comes to the minorities it becomes crucial for them to give equal treatment and therefore the workforce must be racially diverse. The Sullivan Commission Report states that 62% of black patients are treated by black dentists and 10.5% of black patients are treated by white dentists (Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce, 2004). This clearly indicates that the health care services are highly affected by the racial differences. Another factor that emphasizes upon the need of workforce diversity is that the patients belonging to different cultures have entirely different beliefs for instance, in among Muslims anyone out of the immediate family cannot touch a woman and these women ask for a female doctor for themselves, for such conditions there should be a healthcare provider who clearly understand the patient’s reservations and can deal with their insecurities.
The workplace diversity also minimizes the communication barriers between the patient and doctor. When the doctor communicates in the language of the patient and satisfies him with his concern and knowledge about his background then the patient feels comfortable and easily discusses the issues.
Despite of the fact that workforce diversity is essential for the healthcare management still there is this unresolved issue that the total number of professionals in the healthcare do not represent an equal percentage of minorities of the same population. For instance, the 2000 census of United States of America shows that 25.7% of the population consists of the minorities including African Americans, Hispanics and Alaskan Natives who have only 20% of their representatives among the healthcare professionals (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001).
Racial and Cultural differences in diverse Healthcare Management
When we say diverse healthcare management then it means that we are talking about healthcare providers who belong to entirely different backgrounds and their patients also belong to different social systems. This gives rise to several workplace issues and controversies such as the one of racial and cultural difference between healthcare provider and patient. The minorities do not have their representatives in the healthcare sector to cater their needs and on the other hand the majority population faces hindrance in catering to their problems. To deal with the issues arising from racial and cultural differences workforce diversity is must which cannot be achieved without the cooperation of academic intuitions and recruitment authorities.
The academic institutions play the major role in resolving this issue of providing because they already know that there is a high need of workforce diversity in the healthcare sector and that this need can only be fulfilled by the complete support of academic institutions as they are the one who guides and inspires the students towards their future careers. These institutions must give financial assistance to the students who cannot afford higher education. They should also allocate some space for the students who belong to minorities and should assist them in selecting their future careers. The next most important role is played by the recruitment authorities who actually believe in the abilities of fresh graduates and provide them with the best possible jobs. These authorities should perform their responsibilities without any biasness and with complete transparency. As a result the issue of racial and cultural difference and the need of diverse workforce would be easily resolved.
Conclusion:
The above mentioned facts indicate the intense need of workforce diversity. In this regard the academic institutions need to perform their duties. They should open up the ways for minorities to get the higher education and should facilitate them to serve people from their own races and cultures. The healthcare management should make diversity the foremost priority and its importance should not be neglected. The students from the underrepresented minorities should be given a chance to excel in their careers and jobs which would ultimately help patients of their own cultures and backgrounds.
Notes
Hyperlink to the Article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1698162/
References
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ADEA Position Paper: Statement on the Roles and Responsibilities of Academic Dental Institutions in Improving the Oral Health Status of All Americans. (January 01, 2011). Journal of Dental Education, 75, 7, 988-995.
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Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. (2004). Missing persons: Minorities in the health professions : a report of the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. Durham, N.C.: Sullivan Commission.
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U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Profiles of general demographic characteristics 2000: 2000 census of population and housing : United States. Washington, D.C: U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
"Search Results: Diversity." Merriam-Websters Learners Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. .Bottom of Form Read More