Diversity refers to the inherent differences between individuals in the workplace. The differences, in this case, maybe in terms of ethnicity, gender, race, nationality, age, and so on. There are other factors such as sexual orientation, political or religious affiliation, and educational levels that also bring out differences between individuals in a workplace (Engebretson, 2015).
There are several benefits associated with a diverse health care workforce. First, a diverse workforce serves to create a more tolerant environment, fostering team working among members of the workforce. Secondly, diverse workplaces are also apt breeding grounds for new ideas and innovations as a result of the presence of individuals from different backgrounds (Phillips & Malone, 2014). As a result of a diverse workforce, the impact of language barriers in health care is diminished to some extent. Other benefits accrued to diverse cultures include enhanced understanding and respect for different cultures and better patient outcomes and enhanced satisfaction.
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Although diversity presents health care workplaces with numerous benefits, some barriers work to impede the success of diverse workplaces. One of the barriers to diversity in the nursing profession is communication. In practice, poor communication usually results in mistrust between workmates, unintentional offense, as well as unclear practices (Almutairi, 2015). Another common barrier to diversity in the nursing profession is resistance to change. In some situations, there exist employees who may be resistant to the introduction of new policies meant at enhancing diversity or the entry of new staff. In practice, employees resistant to change may instigate stereotyping or offend new employees, which works against improving diversity in the profession.
At my workplace, cultural diversity has been fully embraced, and there are a lot of benefits that both the workforce and patients have accrued owing to this diversity. However, the diverse nature of my workplace also presents me with a challenge. The greatest challenge, in this case, is communication. Owing to the presence of some colleagues who speak other languages, it has become increasingly difficult for me to communicate effectively with quite a number of them. This scenario presents a more significant challenge of appreciating the fact that ineffective communication between nursing professionals is a precursor for medical errors.
References
Almutairi K. M. (2015). Culture and language differences as a barrier to provision of quality care by the health workforce in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal , 36 (4), 425–431. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2015.4.10133
Engebretson, J. C. (2015). Cultural diversity and care. In B. Dossey, & G. Guzzetta (Eds.), Holistic nursing: A handbook for practice (7th edition). Jones & Bartlett Learning, pp. 439-464.
Phillips, J. M., & Malone, B. (2014). Increasing racial/ethnic diversity in nursing to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. Public Health Reports, 129 (2), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549141291S209
