Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity in the Workplace
Lucrecia Wright

June 23, 2013

Diversity is defined as the inclusion of different types of people, as people of different races or cultures, in a group or organization. In nursing, the issue of diversity ranges from demographic profiles of colleagues to cultural barriers that exist between nurses and patients. The purpose of this essay is to examine the importance of diversity and culturally competent nursing care, the impact of gender diversity in the workplace and the impact of the underrepresentation of minority groups within the nursing profession. Examining the Importance of Diversity and Culturally Competent Nursing Care There is a need for nurses to familiarize themselves with diversity and cultural competence. Global immigration has caused the need for this awareness, Diversity and culturally competent nursing care has gained a momentum because of the need to identify cultural health disparities. Nurses being diverse creates a greater chance that the patient will be treated by a nurse who is familiar with their cultural background. Even if the nurse treating the patient is not of that culture, having nursing colleagues who are affiliated with that culture can serve as an invaluable educational resource and can prepare the nurse for unanticipated cultural barriers to caring for the patient (Douglas, et al, 2009). There are global nursing standards which help bridge the gaps in cultural health care disparities. These global standards include, but are not limited to, principles of social justice, self- reflection, and self-education regarding personal cultural values and the cultural values of others, for the purpose of eliminating culturally-based health care disparities (Douglas, et al,2009). Examining the Impact of Gender Diversity in the Workplace In the U.S. nursing is a gender-specific profession. However that is not true in other parts of the world. Gender diversity within the nursing profession is important to consider in the creation of a truly diverse workplace (Sullivan, 2000). Men representation in the nursing profession has been growing. There are approximately 2,909,357 licensed registered nurses in the United States. Men make up 8.1% of that number. This is roughly 330,000. Despite the media reference to nursing and women, men are becoming more attractive to the profession because of the high wages and expanding job opportunities (Landivar, 2011). Examining the Impact of the Underrepresentation of Minority Groups in Nursing According to National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses from 2004, nurses from minority background represents just 10.7% of the registered nurse workforce. The RN population comprises 4.2% African American, 1.7% Hispanic, 3.1 Asian/ Native/ Hawaiian, 0.3% American Indian/ Alaskan Native and 1.4% multiracial nurses (Huston, 2010). Approximately 90% of all Registered Nurses are Caucasian (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). The nursing profession not only lacks in gender diversity but in ethnic diversity as well. The nursing profession is under pressure to be culturally competent due to the diversity in the population. Nurses must be able to meet all of the patient’s needs, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Lack of awareness of a different cultural beliefs or preferences can interfere with the effectiveness of the patient’s plan of care and the nurse/patient relationship (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). For some cultures women are unable to look a man in the eye during conversation that is considered disrespectful. Most nurses make eye contact with the patient to express caring, concern and respect. Due to the numerous cultural meanings that some of these nonverbal cues can take, nurses may not need to learn all of them, but should instead be prepared to ask or explain their intent before touching a patient from an unknown cultural background (Maier- Lorentz, 2008). Conclusion The world we live in today has diversified till it impacts everyone on a daily basis. All over the world, the growing diversity of the multicultural communities have had an impact on nursing care. Diversity in nursing mandates nurses to have an awareness of cultural differences and to be skilled in providing culturally competent care. Diversity does not only applies to nurse/patient relationship but also to colleagues in the workplace. Gender diversity should not be left out as well. In the United States, the nursing profession is a Caucasian, female- dominated profession. Thus is why special attention is given to cultural awareness to ensure the delivery of culturally competent care for all patients. With the hopes of narrowing the gaps in culturally-based health care disparities by providing quality of care for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, and gender.

References

Douglas, M., Uhl Pierce, J., Rosenkoetter, M., Clark Callister, L., Hattar-Pollara, M., Lauderdale, J., et al. (2009). Standards of practice for culturally competent nursing care: A request for comments. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(3), 257-269.

Huston, C. J. (2010). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges & opportunities. Philadelphia PA: Wolters Kluwer/ Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Landivar, L .C. Men in nursing occupation. February 25, 2013. http://www. Census .gov/hhes/www/ioindex/reports.html.

Maier-Lorentz, M. (2008). Transcultural nursing: Its importance in nursing practice. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 15(1), 37-43. Retrieved June 19, 2013 from NURS 3000 Required course readings at http://libraryguides.waldenu.edu/nurs3000.

Sullivan, E. (2000). Men in nursing: The importance of gender diversity. Journal of Professional Nursing, 16(5), 253-254. Retrieved June 16, 2013 from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

Diversity in the Workplace

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