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| A Diverse Workplace. [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rnnursesalary.xyz/2013/12/ |
The ethnic cultures of multicultural
population of Australia also disperse into our workplaces, and
it is not uncommon to work together with first generation Indigenous
Australians and numerous other assorted ethnic descents (Mitchell, Parker &
Giles, 2011). Cultural diversity can create language and communication errors, gender
differentials, and personal cultural preferences in a multicultural workplace (King,
Dawson, Kravitz & Gulick, 2012). The key to harmony is to recognise that we
are all united in the nursing profession regardless of race, gender and
ethnicity, and be cultural role models that adhere and promote ethical
management guidelines that protect specific targeted groups from discrimination
(Queensland Health, 2013, p. 2).
The culture, health care standards and policy guidelines may fluctuate within
different nations, but the essence of healthcare remain the same. Nurses must diversify
together and deliver exceptional holistic care to obtain the best health outcome
for our clients. It is important to support cultural acculturation of ethnic
nurses, as they face many challenges towards foreign languages (Hadziabdic, Lundin
& Hjelm, 2015), unfamiliar cultural practices and social exclusion. Culturally
competent nurses respect and value the cultural differences of our professional
colleagues, and understand that many nurses from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds may find it challenging to understand the high excess of disposable
waste, as they may only be familiar with the limitations of reprocessed equipment.
It is also beneficial to have cultural integration in our clinical practice to assist
with the increasingly complex ethnic healthcare needs of our culturally diverse
clients (Mitchell, Boyle, Parker, Giles, Chiang & Joyce, 2015).
The Congress of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Nurses and
Midwives was founded to represent, support and advocate Indigenous healthcare
workers (Deek, Abbott, Moore, Davison, Cameron, DiGiacomo & Davidson, 2013),
assemble capacity within the industry, promote disinclined Indigenous peoples
to seek healthcare services (Aspin, Brown, Jowsey, Yen & Leeder, 2012), reduce
cultural health inequalities and give better health outcomes to undiagnosed
chronic diseases of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations (Downing,
Kowal & Paradies, 2011).
Gender inequality is a concern in the nursing profession, with many male
nurses exiting the industry due to stereotypical bullying, perceived sexual
orientation, hypocrisy and minimal social acceptance, declined job dissatisfaction
and limited support structures (Ayala, Holmqvist, Messing & Browne, 2014).
Another concern is the persecution of generational differences (Olt, Jirwe, Saboonchi,
Gerrish & Emami, 2014) and judgmental discrimination involving
hospital-trained and academically trained nurses in the workplace (Kreutzer, 2013).
This also leads to unprofessional
attitudes, loss of experienced staff causing further nurse shortages, hostile work environments and
cross-generational communication tribulations that affect leadership abilities,
emotional and psychological dysfunction and ultimately impacts patient safety (Workplace
equality leads to happier patients, 2011).
Self Reflection:
Acknowledging and valuing the diverse educational, race, gender, ethnic backgrounds
and cultural characteristics of my team-mates will ultimately develop my skills
in clinical practice as a respectful and productive team-player. I believe mutual
respect is vital for leadership, creates harmonised and professional working
environments, and is essential for my professional acceptance in my future
clinical practice.
References:
Aspin, C., Brown, N., Jowsey, T., Yen, L., & Leeder, S. (2012).
Strategic approaches to enhanced health service delivery for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness: a qualitative study. BMC
Health Services Research, 12143. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-12-143
Ayala, R. A., Holmqvist, M. T., Messing, H. B., & Browne, R. F.
(2014). Blessed art thou among women: male nursing students and gender
inequalities in Chile. Nurse Education Today, 34(12),
1480-1484. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2014.04.022
Deek, H., Abbott, P., Moore, L., Davison, J., Cameron, S., DiGiacomo,
M., & Davidson, P. M. (2013). Pneumococcus in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples: The role of Aboriginal health workers and implications for
nursing practice. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian
Nursing Profession, 46(1), 54-58 5p. doi:10.5172/conu.2013.46.1.54
Downing, R., Kowal, E., & Paradies, Y. (2011). Indigenous cultural
training for health workers in Australia. International Journal For
Quality In Health Care: Journal Of The International Society For Quality In
Health Care / Isqua, 23(3), 247-257. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzr008
Hadziabdic, E., Lundin, C., & Hjelm, K. (2015). Boundaries and
conditions of interpretation in multilingual and multicultural elderly
healthcare. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1), 1-13.
doi:10.1186/s12913-015-1124-5
King, E. B., Dawson, J. F., Kravitz, D. A., & Gulick, L. V. (2012).
A multilevel study of the relationships between diversity training, ethnic
discrimination and satisfaction in organizations. Journal Of
Organizational Behavior, 33(1), 5-20. doi:10.1002/job.728
Kreutzer, S. (2013). “Hollywood Nurses” in West Germany: Biographies,
Self-Images, and Experiences of Academically Trained Nurses after 1945. Nursing
History Review, 2133. doi:10.1891/1062-8061.21.33
Managing Inclusiveness and Diversity in Teams: How Leader Inclusiveness
Affects Performance through Status and Team Identity. Human Resource
Management, 54(2), 217-239. doi:10.1002/hrm.21658
Mitchell, R. J.,
Parker, V., & Giles, M. (2011). When do interprofessional teams succeed?
Investigating the moderating roles of team and professional identity in
interprofessional effectiveness. Human Relations, 64(10),
1321-1343. doi:10.1177/0018726711416872
Mitchell, R., Boyle, B., Parker, V., Giles, M., Chiang, V., & Joyce,
P. (2015). Managing Inclusiveness and Diversity in Teams: How Leader
Inclusiveness Affects Performance through Status and Team Identity. Human
Resource Management, 54(2), 217-239. doi:10.1002/hrm.21658
Olt, H., Jirwe, M., Saboonchi, F., Gerrish, K., & Emami, A. (2014).
Communication and equality in elderly care settings: perceptions of first- and
second-generation immigrant and native Swedish healthcare workers. Diversity
& Equality In Health & Care, 11(2), 99-111.
Queensland Health (2013). Human Resources Policy: Equity and Diversity,
Department of Health, Policy Number G2 (QH-POL-132). Retrieved from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/qhpolicy/docs/pol/qh-pol-132.pdf
Workplace equality leads to happier patients. (2011). Nursing
Standard, 26(2), 10.
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