Diversity in nursing encompasses differences of race, ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, immigration status, sex, and more. Why is diversity in healthcare important? Research demonstrates that diversity in nursing leads to better patient outcomes, patient-provider relationships, and more robust financial performance for healthcare organizations.
About 63% of surveyed nurses have personally experienced racism at work from their coworkers, patients, and/or nursing supervisors. Cultivating diversity in nursing and an anti-racism landscape are critically important to support nurses and improve the workplace and quality of patient care.
At the University of St. Thomas Houston, you’ll find over 3,000 students and 300 faculty members from diverse backgrounds. As a Catholic school providing faith-based education, we welcome students of all faiths and walks of life interested in applying to our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. By cultivating a more diverse student body, we aim to improve diversity within the nursing workforce.
Why is diversity in healthcare important? When thinking about nursing and diversity, it’s important to understand what diversity means for the healthcare field and why it is beneficial and necessary. There are many obstacles to cultivating diversity, but also several strategies for overcoming them.
What Does Diversity in Nursing Mean?
The promotion of diversity in any workforce, including nursing, is commonly mistaken as favoring one group of people unfairly over another when, in fact, minority groups have long been marginalized. Individuals belonging to minority groups have historically been denied the same opportunities as non-minority groups. Often, minorities must demonstrate more experience and qualifications than non-minorities before they can access similar opportunities.
In short, promoting diversity in healthcare workspaces and other aspects of public life is a means of leveling the playing field so that all may have fair and equitable access.
In addition to ethnic background, diversity encompasses differences in:
- Age
- Language
- National origin and immigration or refugee status
- Physical, functional, and learning ability
- Religion
- Sex and sexual orientation
- Socioeconomic background
To be truly diverse, the nursing workforce must embrace all these differences and promote opportunities for all.
Diversity in nursing goes beyond the workforce and extends to diversity among patient populations. A patient’s identity comprises their background, heritage, personal characteristics, and accumulated life experiences. Often, a patient’s culture and identity will affect their journey in the healthcare system. For instance, patients with certain religious beliefs may be hesitant to agree to certain medical interventions, like blood transfusions.
Similarly, patients who are Black may be wary of the healthcare system as a whole because of historical racial injustices, like the infamous Tuskegee experiment, during which Black study participants were denied medical treatment so that researchers could study how syphilis disabled and killed patients. As a result of historic injustices, people of color may distrust healthcare providers, and so nurses must proactively cultivate a trust-based healthcare environment.
In short, diversity in healthcare means acknowledging and embracing people’s differences. It involves providing culturally competent care and leveling the playing field to promote equity and inclusion.
What is an ABSN program, and could it be the right choice for you?
Why Is Diversity in Healthcare Important?
People of diverse groups need to see themselves and their identities represented in healthcare. Nursing and diversity can go together; when they do, everyone benefits, from patients to nurses and other providers to the healthcare system.
Diversity Strengthens the Nursing Workforce
Discrimination and harassment based on racial characteristics and other protected classes can occur in healthcare workplaces. Many strategies can address this, such as introducing clear reporting protocols, conducting impartial workplace investigations, and enforcing an objective and consistent penalty system for violations.
These strategies, however, are reactive. One proactive approach is to recruit and retain a diverse nursing workforce, which can empower the entire nursing team and increase cultural competence.
Cultural Competence and Diversity Facilitates Trust in Healthcare
Patients are more likely to trust their providers when they share common ground, whether through shared beliefs and values or a shared racial, ethnic, or language background.
Trust is crucial in healthcare. Patients may not adhere to treatment recommendations, feel uncomfortable discussing their symptoms and experiences, and delay or avoid accessing healthcare services altogether if they do not trust their providers. In fact, research suggests that trust in providers is integral to creating better patient outcomes.
A Diverse Workforce Achieves Better Patient Outcomes
Diversity in the nursing workforce has been scientifically demonstrated to lead to better patient outcomes. A diverse nursing team brings multiple perspectives, cultural competencies, and life experiences to the nursing unit, which means the team is better prepared to address and overcome a wide range of patient care challenges.
Diverse Healthcare Facilities Enjoy Better Financial Performance
Cultural diversity in nursing isn’t only vital for workplace culture and patient outcomes. It also contributes to more financially robust healthcare systems. Research demonstrates that a healthcare facility with a diverse staff enjoys better financial performance.
How Nursing Education Programs Foster Diversity
As of 2022, the nursing workforce in the U.S. is comprised of 80% white/Caucasian RNs. The profession lacks substantive racial diversity as a whole, but there is hope on the horizon. Many nursing education programs have been embracing a diverse student body. In 2022, 56.1% of nursing students in the U.S. were white, which indicates that the next generation of nurses is likely to be more diverse and representative of the U.S. population. Nursing schools can help strengthen the profession by encouraging diverse students to apply.
Challenges to Achieving Cultural Diversity in Nursing
Significant barriers to achieving diversity in nursing remain. These systemic barriers include:
- Continued underrepresentation of minority groups in the nursing workforce
- Discriminatory workplace cultures
- Implicit bias, which can influence admission decisions, as well as hiring and promotion in the workforce
- Insufficient access to nursing education for minority groups
- Lack of representation in leadership positions
- Limited mentorship opportunities for minority groups
Strategies for Building a More Diverse Nursing Workforce
Greater diversity in nursing is possible, but not without proactive efforts.
Eliminate Bias From Recruiting Efforts
Building a strong and diverse nursing team is only possible through inclusive recruitment, hiring, and retention practices. It’s crucial to eliminate biases in job ads and hiring processes and ensure that inclusive language is used throughout.
Require Cultural Competence Training
Nurses can benefit from cultural competence training, which strengthens the skills needed to respectfully interact with people of all backgrounds and varying beliefs and values. Cultural competence training can help nurses meet their patients’ and coworkers’ cultural, social, and linguistic needs.
Learn how to apply to nursing school and get started on your nursing education.
Make a Bold Move for Your Future as a Nurse
As a Catholic school committed to diversity, the University of St. Thomas Houston welcomes applicants of all backgrounds to discover the benefits of earning a nursing degree with our ABSN program. Here, you will benefit from small class sizes, supportive faculty members, and Academic Success Coaches. Plus, you can graduate in as few as 12 months after fulfilling any needed prerequisites.
Contact an admissions advisor today to learn if UST’s ABSN program is right for you.