Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Professional health care providers in direct contact with patients are required to be licensed and credentialed demonstrating current competencies of both quality care and safe healthcare practice. Should similar licensing and credentialing requirements be imposed on health care leaders and other collaborative workers in the health care industry (e.g., business office personnel, CEOs, CFOs, or other administrators) who may not be directly serving patients? Why or why not?Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Topic 3 DQ 2
Over the decades, credential requirements have gradually increased in all sectors of the health care arena. If this trend continues, for how long will health care organizations remain sustainable? Why? What steps should health care administrators take to absorb or mitigate the rising credentialing requirements? Why?
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Introduction
Healthcare is a very fundamental and sensitive area for any nation’s well being. This coerces the need for the relationship between the medical professionals and their patients to be professional and accommodating. In a recent study by the United States Census Bureau, the populace of America would have a greater percentage of foreigners, thirty five percent, by the year 2020, which would be at least, seven percent higher than the year 2000 (Goldsmith, 2000). It is evident that coexistence of people with mixed and diverse races is gaining popularity with time. Having different cultures and practices, the need to deliver professional services to the people has been of great concern. This is especially in the healthcare sector where all patients should feel comfortable with their service providers.Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
According to, Betancourt(2002) “Cultural competence in health care describes the ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs.” (Pg v). Considering the diverse population in a nation like the United States, the formulation of a system that can cater for both the natives and foreigners does the country much good. It also gives the service providers much wider knowledge on the different groups of people, their races, language used and cultural practices. They therefore learn to appreciate them more rather that consistently criticize and discriminate.
The organizational structure and management of the healthcare providers is therefore mandated to ensure that its staff is fully competent in terms of providing services to different groups of people. There may be evident barriers in their interaction for instance, language barriers, where the patient cannot adequately communicate with the doctor or nurse. This should however not be a hindrance as they are appropriately trained to be patient. Difference in race and nationality should however not be considered a barrier and the service providers should not show any form of disparity in such instances. The health providers adequately assess these factors to ensure they appropriately exercise cultural competence.Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Importance of Cultural Competency Care
People of different races and culture all have the need to receive proper health services regardless of the whether they are citizens of the nation or not. The healthcare organization is therefore obligated to sensitize its staff on the importance of cultural competence. According to Sharrie, Karen, Johanna, and Umi, (2002), “Throughout the nation, a growing consensus is emerging about the nature and importance of cultural competence as an essential component of accessible, responsive, and high quality health care.” (Pg 1). When this issue of culturally competent care for patients is adequately addressed, the health personnel will have diversity in workforce and leadership in their care, thus effectively handling each patient as recommended. It is also important since needs of the various patients are met and enhances proper communication by the different cultured patients and the health providers (Betancourt, 2002).Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Healthcare organizations addressing the issue of competence when dealing with different cultures, has also been observed to do away with racism. As the medical officers become friendly and professional with the patients, they learn to appreciate the culture of different people. Though not in an extensive capacity, the foreign patients also learn to appreciate the professionalism of the medics, thus, their culture as well. Betancourt, (2002) stated that, “… help organizations frame and organize their perspectives and activities related to the assessment of cultural competence.” (Pg 3).
Organizational and Management Strategy For Addressing Diversity
According to, Cordova, Beaudin, Kelly, Christy and Iwanabe, 2010) (Cordova, Beaudin, Kelly, Christy and Iwanabe, (2010), “Healthcare leaders are influential in shaping the future of the organization through strategic planning and resource allocation to those efforts that enhance services, programs, and processes that support a culture of diversity and equity.” For an organization to effectively address this issue, it has to satisfactorily identify and categorize the barriers and differences that exist among the people. These could be, cultural, racial and language. The organization should also access the level of diversity among its staff. This is whether they are of similar or dissimilar race and culture. It also entails determining the staffs’ perception towards different cultures and races, whether accommodating or discriminating. The organization could incorporate three concepts to address diversity.
There can be application of public policies to address the issue of diversity. The organization can ensure existence and strict application of rules and regulations that will govern the medical field with regard to diversity. They can see to it that there are impositions of laws that are legally binding to ensure proper healthcare to diverse cultures and races (Cordova, Beaudin, Kelly, Christy and Iwanabe, 2010). The health organization and management could also adopt a clinical practice that will effectively ensure cultural competence is observed such that all the patients regardless of their ethnicity or race are fully attended to. This will enhance the treatment as well as fidelity to the hospital or health centre. The management can also instill values to its staff that will promote a cultured team from the management to the subordinates. This is organizational behavior and eliminates chances of unfairness and unequal treatment of patients. (Dreachslin, Weech-Maldonado, and Dansky 2004).Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Healthcare Providers Effectiveness of Cultural Competence
Following the sensitization of the healthcare providers and medical staff on the increasing diversity of the populace following the settling of foreigners, they have become aware that those people are of varying cultures and adopted techniques and ways of handling different people. As this is a rapidly growing change, the healthcare providers have become more efficient and perfected the art of dealing with patients in consideration to their cultures, thus, effectiveness. According to Wisneski, and Anderson, (2009), “… developing clinical excellence and strong therapeutic alliances with patients.” (Pg 322). This is a clear indication that as a result of addressing the issue of cultural competence, the health providers have become greatly effective in service provision. They have also adequately embraced their own cultures and those of their patients, thus, culturally competent.
Wisneski, and Anderson, (2009), stated/argued that “… improved awareness and understanding of the impact of cultural influences on the ability to provide good quality healthcare to patients from any ethnic background.” (Pg 322). This clearly shows that the health professionals have become effective in their provision of services since they are capable of sufficiently handling patients with varying ethnicities. They are therefore cultural competent in the sense that they do not show any signs of no appreciation towards other races but on the contrary, they demonstrate total understanding.Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Patients’ View and Perception of Cultural Competency
Under most circumstances, patients always presume that they may not be treated well by people who do not belong to their ethnic group or who do not share in their culture. They may also have the perception that the health staff is not culturally competent as they need be in order to deliver to all patients without disparity. In a study carried out, most patients not of the white race in America perceived that, Johnson, Saha, Cooper, and Arbelaez, (2004), “they would have received better medical care if they belonged to a different race/ethnic group and medical staff judged them unfairly or treated them with disrespect based on race/ethnicity.” This shows that most patients were not yet satisfied with the kind of treatment that they received from health providers and believed that they were not yet culturally competent.
Most patients also perceive healthcare to be discriminatory in terms of the costs. They argue that it is not cost effective and not many people can get access to proper medical services. These perceptions and views have however been changing with time as the health workers become more sensitized with time and open minded towards the reception of people who do not belong to their race. The patients have also increasingly changed their perception that they are judged and treated depending on their skin color or nationality.Health Care Providers Competencies Essay
Conclusion
The topic on cultural competence has increasingly become sensitized in healthcare service provision and the medical field. People in the medical field have increasingly become aware of the importance of treating all their patients equally and attending to them without disparity. The healthcare organizations and managements have also devised techniques that ensure all their staff is culturally competent and fit to handle any kind of patient. This is because of many patients feeling that they are not fairly treated and attended to. They feel that they would be treated better if they belonged to a different race or ethnic group, or if they were natives of the particular country. Consequently, the health providers have become more effective following their competence in their profession and culturally.Health Care Providers Competencies Essay