We live in a diverse society with people from various backgrounds and walks of life. A clinical setting is no different because caregivers, health professionals, and patients are diverse. This diversity creates a unique workplace culture in your clinical environment that is different from other workplace cultures.
Unfortunately, most clinical leaders don’t implement a DEI strategy to create a positive workplace culture in their medical facilities. DEI stands for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” which are important elements of any successful workplace culture. It doesn’t even need to be a clinical setting because any workplace culture can benefit from a DEI strategy. Then you can improve the daily experiences of the caregivers and staff of your workplace.
What is Diversity?
Diversity refers to human differences in terms of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, age, and any other attribute you can think of to define a person.
A country like the United States is highly diverse because immigrants from countries all over the world have come and settled in America. Along with them, they have brought their unique cultures and backgrounds with them.
What is Equity?
Equity refers to equality, where everyone gets equal opportunities to advance and succeed in our society. All social barriers and prejudice are eliminated in an environment where equity is implemented.
As a result, diverse workers from any background or culture can have an equal chance to advance and succeed in the workplace. All the institutional resources are available to them just like they would be for anyone else.
What is Inclusion?
Inclusion refers to the idea that everyone in a particular group is made to feel included or respected amongst everyone else in that group. In other words, no one in the group is made to feel like an outcast or an outsider because of their “diversity.”
Don’t confuse inclusion with equity because they are slightly different. Equity creates the opportunity for equality, while inclusion encourages diverse groups of people to participate in the same group or setting.
It is not enough to just lay the rules for equality because some staff members may not follow them or respect them. After all, they need to be able to respect diversity before they can abide by the rules of equity and equality.
Therefore, inclusion must be part of your leadership strategy to ensure your workers feel respected and happy. Then they can perform better at their jobs and create a more positive experience for their patients.
The Advantages of a DEI Strategy for Your Clinical Workers
The DEI strategy is effective in a workplace of any industry, but it is particularly effective in a healthcare setting. It improves workplace culture and creates a better reputation for your facility.
Let’s break down the primary advantages of a DEI strategy in greater detail:
1) Increases Employee Happiness and Productivity
Employees work harder and achieve higher productivity if they feel happy at their jobs. The best way to improve employee happiness is to create a workplace environment where they can feel accepted and a valuable part of a team. Once you have established such an environment, it will improve patient care outcomes and help grow your business tremendously.
2) Shared Perspectives
Establishing a team workplace environment means allowing employees to share their perspectives and experiences with each other. Sometimes one employee might know something that another employee doesn’t know, which could help them do their job better. Then it will benefit your facility and your patients seeking treatment at it.
3) Attract High-Quality Job Candidates
An effective DEI strategy can help attract the best job candidates to your medical facility. After all, high-quality job candidates want to work in a place where diversity, equity, and inclusion are respected. If your medical facility has a reputation for respecting these three things, you’ll get better candidates applying for jobs there.
4) Better Patient Experience
A major benefit of a DEI strategy is its psychological effect on patients. Since patients are diverse, they feel more comfortable in an environment where the caregivers and staff members are also diverse. It makes them feel represented and understood because they can interact with healthcare professionals like them. That alone creates a better patient experience.
The DEI Strategy of Primary Medical Care Center
Primary Medical Care Center is proud to implement a DEI strategy in our medical facility. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of our core values, and the results speak for themselves. As a result, our caregivers and health professionals are happy and productive each day they come to work. This makes our patients happier and healthier in the process.
Call us at (305) 751-1500 if you want more information on implementing a DEI strategy in your medical facility.