Workforce Diversity in Healthcare - Essay Example

Workforce Diversity in Healthcare Introduction Workforce diversity in healthcare is highly an imperative undertaking. The background of every healthcare worker is great importance for effective operation of the sector. The healthcare workers include nurses, doctors and many other people in the health care service. The process is highly relevant especially with regards to elevating the racial and entailed ethnic diversity in the health care workforce sector. The importance of the process is highly notable in cases where it avails adequate provision of culturally proficient care. The importance is even realized to the ever burgeoning minority communities eminent in the American setting. Properly diverse health care personnel help in expanding health care access for most of the underserved; and also adequately foster research in main neglected areas that are linked to the societal needs. A diversified, skilful, and enriched team of managers or policymakers are vital meeting the recurrent needs of an assorted populace. This top level management is highly relevant with consideration of the current modern world. Typically, there is highly empirical conception which denotes that the long-standing resolutions to achieving sufficient diversity in the health professions normally depend upon primary reforms. Healthcare sector is one the vital sectors in every country. Hence, proper constant improvements to the healthcare system are inevitable. The changes to the healthcare system must commence from the country’s precollege learning system to the practicing field. To enhance the occurrence of the reforms, there is an application of the affirmative action. That is; oriented tools in entire health professions schools. The affirmative actions are significant to achieving varied health care personnel that is important to the earlier or original setting. The paper looks deep into the theoretical and entailed operational process. The paper highlights on extensive literature review which divides into two sections of theoretical and empirical evaluation. It lastly provides vivid recommendation on relevant best practices that should be undertaken (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). Theoretical and operational definitions The theoretical and operational perspectives outlines that Workforce diversity in healthcare emanates from the essence that United States is a country with a wealthy assortment of races and entailed ethnicities. The country is also facing influx people from other continents with varying background. Hence, the diversification of the health care remains the greatest challenge for the country. In summary, US is strategically becoming home to a growing number of persons from different racial and ethnic settings. According to the 2000 census report of USA, the minority population segment is growing at comparably much faster rate as compared to the majority white inhabitants. The statistics reveal that between the years 1980 and 2000, the white population enlarged by close to only 9 percent. There was a huge increase of African American populace reflecting nearly 28 percent. There was a corresponding growth of the Native American population adjacent to nearly 55 percent and the Hispanic population growth by close to 122 percent. The largest growth in population was the Asian population which grew by nearly more than 190 percent. As revealed from the trend above, somewhere close to the middle of this century, there will be more than half of U.S. citizens being the member’s sole minority ethnic. The statistical figures for the year 2000 census illustrate that African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians currently accounts for beyond half of California’s all population. Other states like Texas have Forty-five percent of its member population self-identifying with minority groups. There are equally notable regards in New York, Florida and New Jersey that have one in every three residents being from the minority groups. The acknowledgement of the astounding demographic data does not establish the relevance for the diversity in the entire health care and entailed professionalism. Thus without proper inclusion, and with the ever increasing diversity in the health sector, there is a relevant idea of protecting, systematically improving and restoring of the health of entire American citizenry(Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). Review of Literature The literature review is divided into two sections including the empirical literature and theoretical literature process. The division of the section into two main sectors (theoretical and empirical methods) creates an excellent mix of both experimental and hypothetical data. This combination creates the best outlined method for analysis. Theoretical literature process Theoretically, introduction of workforce diversity in healthcare bases on improvement of levels of equity and even-handedness for every ethnic grouped living is America (Burke & Friedman, 2011). Another relevant theoretical basis for enhanced Workforce diversity in healthcare system is the advancing and enhancement of cultural competency. This concept deals with promoting or augmenting increased access to first-class health services and also amplification the medical research sector. There is a close relation between introduction of workforce diversity and ensuring the most favourable organization of the health care scheme. The adoption of the new of recruiting methods of the workers must be enrolled to each level of the healthcare sector including public health, nursing, osteopathy, dentistry and pharmacy (Kersey-Matusiak, 2013). The American healthcare structure has always found set back in recruiting the persons from marginal backgrounds in sufficient numbers to realize optimal diversity. Consequently, the health sector is slowly being paralyzed and also achieving low trust amongst other ethnic groups. The enrolment of the persons into the streamlined educational system for improvement of the health profession is the resultant detail that would adequately determine the actual representation in the workforce. The main issue would typically contribute to impact and influence on the entire educational procedure through way. Adoption of culturally skilled workforce allows for deriving of most compelling motives for increasing the numbers of medical students or other future health care professionals. The addition of the health workers who are mainly from the underrepresented minority acknowledged groups and reformation of a culturally diversified health care workforce is, therefore, the most reliable way of assuring excellent operation of the current system. The word cultural competence refers to a collection of knowledge, behaviour skills and attitudes required of a healthcare provider to avail optimal health care services to various persons having varied and spanning range of culture or ethnic backgrounds (Kersey-Matusiak, 2013). There is critical and sufficient knowledge entrenched on the fact that the US population is swiftly changing. Therefore, it goes without saying that the preponderance of prospected health care professionals will be required to care for numerous patients with backgrounds setting far dissimilar from their own. In a bid to undertake that role effectively, the future health care workers must have a firm comprehension standing regarding different beliefs, structures and systems. There are also instrumental cultural biases, family structures, ethnic origins and lots of many other culturally oriented and determined factors influencing the manner how people perceive various illnesses and also strictly adhere to provided health care guidelines. The process of advising, measuring the extent of the response to illness and drugs is high and considerably taken in regards proper ethnic culture. The highlighted difference is instrumental and usually refers to notable and accepted outcomes in models of care. Based by evidence, some of the physicians and even other healthcare workers are not wary of the latent impact of the inherent language barriers. In addition, they are not even wary of the available religious taboos, eccentric explanatory scheme and cultural solutions. These physicians are mostly found to be likely not to satisfy the patients. Such remedies provided by the health worker are not only unlikely to gratify the patients but also to present the patients with optimally efficient care as earlier anticipated. Health care workers cannot become culturally and exclusively proficient by spending time on reading textbooks or listening to provided lectures. On the contrary, they should focus on the process of installing a culturally proficient system. An example of racial and ethnic theory is the functionalist theory. It notes that; for a harmonious, effective relationship and stable society, racial or ethnic minorities in the communities should be continuously assimilated into the society. This process calls for continuous absorption of the minority into the conspicuous society. That is, in terms of social, economic and cultural terms. But American case has always created a mechanism to reduce chances of assimilations. This is to say; there is always changes undertaken from the root of the process. The training and education of health workers must be in ambience. That is, the training must be emblematic of the assorted society that they learn and later be required to serve later (Burke & Friedman, 2011). Empirical literature According to Burke & Friedman (2011), empirical data, the racial and ethnic diversity seen in the educational scenario is highly paramount to the proper evaluation of the students’ main ability to ensure efficient working in differing backgrounds. A relevant option in the health sector denotes the importance of the heterogeneous campus system which allows the students to recognize their opinions. It is worth noting that the opinions should not be prejudiced by the inimitable origin, race, gender and even socioeconomic position. There is always a need to develop medical students who have a passion of becoming culturally competent health worker and future practitioners. However, the outlined overarching principles targeted for achieving of excellent higher education comprises the first of the section of the uncountable compelling arguments for anticipated diversity (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2008). There has been empirically enabled data exposing on how the troubling information that infant mortality amongst African Americans was constantly higher and remained 130 percent senior as compared to the amongst the whites which consisted showed increased advancements. From 1998, there has been dramatic illustration on increased improvements which were undertaken on medical setting. However, only African child mortality rate stood at a higher rate despite continuous application of policies and strategies (Shi & Singh, 2011). The critical issue on the health disparities is an autonomous question that highly retains contrasting contemporary and notable salience. This is realised mostly in running of the medical sector of a country. According to the prevailing American health care findings of insurance status, severity of circumstance income and age have always been moderated with regards for the minorities. The finding elaborated that the minorities are poorly serviced in the medical system in comparison other whites groups. The addition of the minority groups in the medical sector remains the main way to curb the predicament experienced in the field (Burke & Friedman, 2011). According to Dreachslin, Gilbert & Malone (2013), the American health sector is also in dire need for augmenting of the medically trained executives and policy makers. These policy makers and trained personnel should be available in the market thus enabling of the assumption of the future roles. The rule by a typical race in the medical sector affects the entire sector in terms of the formulation of the policy guidelines for the entire medical sector (Dreachslin, Gilbert & Malone, 2013). Uncontrolled measures in the health care sector enabled formulation of poor managerial and associated poorly entailed models in the entire health sector managerial system. Provision of an appropriate healthcare support in a constantly diverse populace is bound to create a more complicated management predicament for provider organizations and entailed bodies. The same designed policies are normally forwarded to design and regulate the operation of the public, health care funders and other stakeholders in the healthcare. The same alterations are normally forwarded to the wider territories. That is, from local, every state, and eventually at every national governments level (National Research Council, 2010). The change of the original structuring workforce in the healthcare forms the educational basis. This allows for the reorganization of the medical practitioners in the private health care sector. This is because most of the students and worker are collected from the same pool. Change in health care has critical basis of providing comparably diverse management squad that incorporates the inclusion of the key member’s entire medical training hence creating an excellent and crucial strategy for the tactical decisions (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). Identification and Recommendations for Best Practice According to National Research Council (2010), there are critical changes that must be implemented in the health sector so as to transform it to the modern and desired practice that is conventional to the current standards. American society is coming from an interconnected system that is challenging discrimination and racial segregation. Most of the sectors in the American economy have received a boost. It is easy to argue that the boost is also reflected in the entire healthcare sector. However, the health sector remains poorly staffed by equal racial diversification. Implementation of policies aimed at controlling and augmenting the intake of the minority groups in the healthcare education system must be promoted. It is worth noting that recommendations on advancing the care bases chiefly on informing the society of relevance of equal opportunities to all Americans irrespective of the backgrounds. Proper education of the public must be enhanced to ensure continued elimination of racial discrimination eminent in the society (Shi & Singh, 2011). The minority groups should also be motivated and challenged to take up careers in the healthcare services area so as create equalizing effects to the unbalanced healthcare jobs case (McConnell, 2010). The ever increasing effects of unemployment can also be adequately addressed by the consideration of relevant medical or health care system in place. According statistics in 1999, the numbers of the African American and Hispanics were 12 % of the entire American population. However, their representation in the medical healthcare physician workforce was 2.6 and 3.5 respectively. In the same year, the Native Americans were even less presented in the medicine as they constituted close to 0.7 percent of the entire. It is however surprising that Asians and pacific islanders who consist of the nation’s 9.1 percent of physicians are only 3.8 percent in terms of the populations (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2008). They also record close to 20 % of the entire medical student’s body. It is widely notable and acknowledgeable that it is only by being skilled in the companionship of a largely diverse student body scenario that you can be absorbed in the health sector. In addition, in the learning environments or ambience that mirrors the diverse society, the students can easily be called upon to serve adequately. Expansion of the common number of minority health care providers in the health care labor force will possibly improve availability of high-quality health care services. The improvement is most likely to be realized for most of the poorly served populations. This is due to presence of such physicians and aid in tackling of the challenges eminent in the medical sector (Dreachslin, Gilbert & Malone, 2013). The same mechanism should be forwarded towards the disproportionate scope and selection of the best practices to aid HPSAs. This will also allow for the serving of the needs of all minority patients. Augmentation and increasing of the various numbers of minority physicians-even entailed scientists who have passion for the careers in medical research sector- would highly elevate the levels of results spearheaded towards broadening of the health care sector (National Research Council, 2010). Conclusion The incorporation of the minority race in the healthcare workforce amounts to diversification of the health care workforce. The models for undertaking the process should be well designed by the health sector policy makers so as to alter the entire sector. In conclusion, elevation of the racial and ethnic multiplicity and entailed diversity in the health care workforce has numerous consequences. Most of the results typically are salutary and has relevance in the provision of optimal care to an ever increasing diverse population. The erection of the diversification structures in the health care professionals will automatically assure the cultural competent practitioners. This method is highly desirable in acquisition of the relevant future system that will enable the physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, and dentists gather very relevant and necessary attributes to perform the esteemed healthcare obligation. Enacting of laws requiring or even compelling the various private hospitals to have racial balance in their health care delivery system is very vital. The gradually falling but entrenched racial bias on the members of the community should be highly restrained and controlled effectively. The repair and reformation of the health care system would also extend to restructuring of the entire country policies to accept tolerance and diversity in all areas of the country relating with the various dockets available. References Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2011). The nations health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Buchbinder, S. B., & Shanks, N. H. (2012). Introduction to health care management. Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Elsdon, R. (2013). Business behaving well: Social responsibility, from learning to doing. Washington, D.C: Potomac Books. Niles, N. J. (2013). Basic concepts of health care human resource management. Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 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