I see the role of diversity and the inclusiveness of diverse groups in healthcare as very important. Medical institutions need to aim to increase diversity, as represented by the workforce, with people of different socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, races, religions, cultures, genders, and sexual orientations. This has a positive impact not only on the organization but on individual patients and the community as a whole. The healthcare team needs to be as diverse as the patients who provide the service. This creates a feeling of inclusiveness both among patients and employees.
I am a female, first-generation African-American studying healthcare. Both of my parents are immigrants, who moved to the United States, and we are an average-income family. My race makes me a part of a diverse group, which I am quite proud of. I believe that my achievements, both personal and professional, could contribute not only to the improvement of a specific subject area but also to the situation with diversity in modern society.
Based on my prior experience, I could say that if a patient obtains a feeling of community and has a healthcare provider who identifies with them, the experience that the patient is going through will be more pleasant for them. When I had a work experience as a nurse, there was an old black woman that was very scared and stressed because of her diagnosis; she spoke in an African dialect, which is why she sometimes had difficulties explaining her needs. Her stress level negatively influenced her health conditions and treatment outcome. I decided to help to take care of her, after which she expressed very much gratitude for me and said that I gave her a feeling of trust. I was able to explain some of the things she could not explain to my colleagues because of the language barrier. I believe that there are many cases like this where patients need more understanding and support from people of the same group. Lack of diversity can lead to disruption of communication with patients due to differences and even cultural prejudices. Serious errors can occur if the patient is unable to speak sufficiently or express their needs.
The experience that I have gone through has greatly contributed to shaping my understanding of diversity and gave me a notion of how I could implement elements of diversity in my future work. In my future career, I would like to improve the healthcare management system in the context of the inclusion of different minority groups. I intend to improve the recruitment system and facilitate the inclusion of more talented professionals from diverse racial, ethical, and gender groups. I think that such an approach will, firstly, solve the problem of communication breakdown, such as a language barrier. Secondly, it will create a feeling of safety and support for the patients from the same diverse groups as healthcare providers. I believe that their positive emotions and calmness play a paramount role in the quality of service and care results.