How Representation In Nursing Benefits Employers

All employers benefit from a diverse workforce. Advantages include a more creative and productive team, increased employee satisfaction, and different perspectives. Hospitals and other healthcare employers committed to diversity can hire nurses from backgrounds identical or similar to the local population.

Diversity in nursing involves hiring members of minority groups. It also includes hiring men, who comprise only 9.1% of registered nurses (RNs). Hiring a more diverse workforce offers many hidden benefits. One advantage is helping healthcare employers prepare for an imminent nursing shortage.

The following sections detail representation's importance and how employers can increase diversity in the nursing profession.

What Is Representation?

Healthcare centers achieve representation by employing a workforce mirroring U.S. demographic trends. Much work remains to be done to achieve a more diverse workforce. For example, 13% of the population identifies as African American. However, only 4% of physicians fall into this group. A worse disparity gap exists for Latin Americans and other minorities.

Diversity in nursing narrows the representation divide, increasing communication between patients and medical staff. Some patients prefer speaking with medical professionals who share their cultural, racial, or religious group. Better communication allows healthcare workers to diagnose conditions faster and provide appropriate care. Other positive outcomes include increased patient willingness to follow medical advice.

Benefits extend beyond the healthcare provider-patient relationship. A more diverse workforce promotes cultural sensitivity and empathy among staff. White physicians and nurses learn how their biases affect patient care. They can modify their behavior accordingly and apply these lessons in their personal life. This leads to a more inclusive community.

Disparities in Healthcare

Disparities refer to the differences in treatment and medical outcomes between two or more groups. Negative effects include poor treatment by medical staff, worse care, and lower life expectancy. Sexual preference, race, national origin, disability, and socioeconomic status influence healthcare disparities.

Disparities occur due to medical professionals' conscious and unconscious biases. Conscious bias refers to attitudes and beliefs someone recognizes in themselves, such as explicit racism. Unconscious bias describes stereotypes about racial, cultural, sexual, and socioeconomic groups. Most healthcare disparities occur due to unconscious bias. This appears more often when healthcare workers experience elevated stress.

Increasing diversity in nursing requires promoting health equity. A hospital with health equity provides the same level of care to all patients. However, promoting equity must occur in and outside of healthcare centers. Professionals such as social workers and health educators should advocate for safer neighborhoods, educational programs, and fair wages. These and other factors influence communities' overall health.

RNs and other medical professionals should examine how they treat members of a minority group and whether this treatment leads to poorer outcomes. Many hospitals feature robust health equity programs for employees, such as professional development and community outreach programs.

How To Increase Diversity and Representation in Nursing

Healthcare employers can promote diversity in nursing in multiple ways. They may increase diversity hires, promote healthcare careers in diverse communities, and provide financial incentives. Employers can also create training programs for potential nurses.

These suggestions should provide employers with some ideas on how to increase diversity in the nursing workforce. Employees may possess additional guidance on how to promote representation and create a better workplace for all.

Additional Resources

Thomas Broderick

Thomas Broderick is a freelance writer and the owner of Broderick Writer LLC. He creates study guides, informational websites, and blog posts for clients in the education field. Thomas is also a published author of over 20 short stories and a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

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