Introduction
Ethical issues in the healthcare industry occur when crucial decisions need to be made, and the options are limited. The wrong choice may result in a decrease in the quality of treatment, patient health-threatening, and moral distress of employees. In this paper, the ethical issues will be discussed regarding the experience of nursing leaders, the impact of cultural diversity on healthcare employees, and problem-solving.
Main body
Medical employees can encounter the issue of not speaking the same language with a patient from different background. Furthermore, some countries prohibit families from being with a patient in a critical care unit. However, in some cultures, it is a moral responsibility of a family to stay by a patient’s side at any time. Thus, conflicts may arise concerning the issue of being with a patient. Wagner (2018, p. 97) suggests using “holistic leadership” that considers the health, culture, and emotions of a patient when helping. One might say that it is also essential for a nurse leader to encourage staff to fight their own biases and apply professional attitudes to patients with different cultural backgrounds.
Talking about my cultural background, I would say that it was not diverse, and my family has no specific healthcare practices. However, I know that people have different views on treatment and medical practices depending on their cultural background. As a nurse leader, I would encourage the employees to respect the cultural background and do everything possible to provide high-quality treatment with the adjustments made specifically for each patient.
If a patient’s or staff’s cultural values are not considered, the reaction to care may be adverse. Cultural sensitivity may have various implications for a nurse leader, such as improved health outcomes or health deterioration, depending on the patient’s choice of treatments. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014) suggests implementing “A Treatment Improvement Protocol” to improve the cultural competence of healthcare employees. This protocol encompasses rules and practices nurse leaders can use to integrate changes and monitor the level of cultural diversity.
Conclusion
To conclude, one may state that cultural diversity and competence of medical employees in the organization play an essential role nowadays. Medical staff, as well as patients, may have different values, beliefs, or religious adherence that need to be considered whenever care is provided. Thus, patients and employees need to collaborate to understand each other and make a fast and pleasant recovery.
References
- Wagner, J. (Ed.). (2018). Leadership and Influencing Change in Nursing. Regina, SK: URPress.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). Improving cultural competence: Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP 59). [PDF file]. Web.