NURS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Diversity Project Kickoff Presentation

Student Name

Capella University

School of Nursing and Health Sciences

Collaboration, Communication, and Case Analysis for Master’s Learners

Submission Date

Diversity Project Kickoff Presentation

Slide 01

My name is ______ and I welcome you to the kick-off presentation of the diversity initiative at Lakeland Medical Clinic.

Slide 02

The kick-off presentation for a diversity project is the official introduction to a diversity project with an organization that will feature inclusion and equity within the organization’s culture and ways of working. With a current healthcare system experiencing low patient volumes and potential cultural and linguistic barriers to maintaining equal and equitable access to quality care for patients, projects aimed at creating accessible and equitable health care for all patients are urgent. This project aims to close the accessibility gap in patient care and improve poor patient-community relations with the predominantly Haitian community served by Lakeland Medical Clinic, and the strained relationships between staff and community members. Access to care is not only a professional duty, but an ethical duty as well.

Project Goals and Priorities

Slide 03

A clear goal for any project will assist in maintaining focus on the project, measurement, and purpose in line with Lakeland Medical Clinic’s organizational values. The main goal of this project is to establish a “whole staff” environment for inclusion and cultural competence for all staff, patients, the community, and the various external partners served by the clinic, with the aim of strengthening relationships and trust with the population of Haiti and other local communities in the care of the clinic. To achieve this, an interdisciplinary project committee will create a system and phased implementation plan.

The top priority of the project will be to undertake the Cultural Competency Training of all the clinic’s clinical and administrative staff members. Healthcare service providers need to build up an informed and culturally competent workforce that is aware of and responsive to cultural differences in delivering services to patients (6). This is imperative, as the lack of understanding of language and cultural barriers at Lakeland has resulted in a decreased number of patients seen at the clinic. If there are no gaps in staff knowledge, any attempt to raise the level of patient satisfaction for patients without improving staff knowledge will not last.

The second element of the project will be to build up community stakeholder involvement with the Haitian population and other clientele of the clinic. Cultural humility also calls for self-reflection and self-evaluation throughout one’s lifespan and recognizes that there is a power dynamic between patients and providers, and a need for community partnerships; by elevating the Haitian community members up into the project committee process, the clinic will help institute solutions to the identified barriers that will be community-driven and not institution-driven. The third goal of the project will be to explore and update current clinic policies to meet recognized nationally accepted Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards and address structural barriers to equitable services.

Assumptions

All projects and activities are founded on a set of reasonable assumptions that will be applied to developing a programme and implementing activities relating to the specific project. In the context of clinic leadership, for instance, it also assumes that leadership will be fully engaged in the support of the diversity initiative through both time/effort and resources to allow the initiative to be successful. In addition, it is assumed that everyone who is part of the newly-created diversity and inclusion committee has a true interest in addressing health equity and providing culturally responsive services. These assumptions collectively serve as the basis for a viable committee and/or a team that can deliver substantive suggestions to enhance outcomes in the community they serve.

Composition of a Diversity Team

Slide 04

Having a diverse and qualified team is key to addressing complex organizational challenges in an effective way. The proposed committee for Lakeland Medical Clinic will consist of five members from different disciplines, backgrounds, and perspectives/ Please note that modern health systems need professionals from all backgrounds working together – this includes physicians, nurses, social workers, and other health care professionals. Therefore, each committee member will be chosen based on their knowledge and ability to contribute meaningfully to recommendations that consider equity and culture.

The internal members of the committee will be a Registered Nurse who has experience advocating for patients, a licensed Social Worker who has had experience in clinical settings, and an HR administrator with DEI training. Teams need to remember that when working collaboratively, they need to be aware of the various forms of diversity and how this impacts their team – these include cultural differences, racial and ethnic differences, gender differences, differences in sexual orientation, differences in ability, and differences in both socioeconomic status and ability.  The external committee members will be made up of a Health Liaison from the Haitian Community and a diversity consultant who has had healthcare experience. By having both internal and external voices included on the committee, it is more likely that the recommendations developed by the committee will be based on both the realities of the organization as well as the level of trust the community has in the organization.

External Team Member’s Example

A good committee balance should reflect the internal level of knowledge and expertise, as well as lived experiences of the community that it serves. In the organization, the nurse and social worker have a firsthand understanding of and experience with direct care to the patient, and are mindful of cultural and language barriers. The HR Administrator provides institutional expertise on hiring and recruiting procedures, policy review and formulation, and norms of equitable treatment in the workplace. In the world beyond, so to speak, the Haitian Community Liaison offers a first-hand perspective and experience with their culture, and the Diversity Consultant offers evidence-based frameworks relevant to similar kinds of healthcare organisations. Every person on this committee brings a unique set of skills, experience, and viewpoint that is needed to make a meaningful difference at Lakeland Medical Clinic.

Interprofessional Collaboration within the Team

Slide 05

The collaboration between the two professions demands purposeful leadership, a clearly outlined organization, and accountability for everyone on the team. As Committee Chair, I will support inclusive dialogue by creating an inclusive working team environment and engage transformational leadership during the project process. Part of the aim of the CIHC Competency Framework is that team members communicate effectively and respectfully with one another, creating a setting of relationship-based care and team communication (). I would like to build a team by making sure that every team member is recognised for their individual expertise, and the team makes decisions as a whole and based on the knowledge that all members bring to the team.

Team members will get to share their ideas using a facilitated structured brainstorming of the nominal group technique, before the group opens discussion. Furthermore, a RACI matrix will be created to identify and define the role that each team member will play when creating deliverables. Whenever possible, the team will use collective decision-making, but if a team comes to an impasse, there will be a procedure to break that impasse. All team members will be sent meeting minutes within 24 hours of the team meeting. In order to be successful, interprofessional teams must define and develop their common identity, create and communicate a shared language, and create the belief that there are advantages of having an interprofessional diverse team.

Characteristics of a Diverse Workforce

Slide 06

Differences are valued and included on all levels of the workplace (background, identity, experience, and perspective) in a workplace that values (or encourages) diversity and inclusion. This encompasses hiring and diversity and inclusion practices, psychological safety, cultural humility, and leadership representations and communication. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the healthcare workforce enable breakthroughs in research and better access to quality healthcare services for all. These ideas should be integrated into the daily routines of all staff members at Lakeland Medical Clinic, not viewed as programs or initiatives.

These concepts can be seen in statistical data gathered over the years and through the measured results that consistently occur as a result of these concepts. “Diversity (in the workplace) provides an environment where everyone feels welcome, feels included, feels a part, and feels they can bring their full selves to their jobs and improve how they care for others” (Mayo Clinic Health System). Similarly, specific diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in academic health care have shown promise in boosting employee perceptions of inclusion, opportunities for training and career development, and, in turn, employee perceptions of the workplace. This shows how important it is to have a workplace that is inclusive for workers, and to get the best care outcomes for diverse communities.

Benefits of a Diverse Workforce

Slide 07

Organizations can step up and promote and sustain a diverse workforce, resulting in measurable improvement with respect to patient outcomes, workforce performance, and the organization’s effectiveness. Research indicates that a positive diversity climate in an organization is associated with decreased absenteeism, higher employee morale and better employee satisfaction levels, as well as increased satisfaction with patients (research). Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace of health care organizations foster better research innovation and access to quality health care. In the Lakeland Medical Clinic, for instance, the majority of patients are from Haiti and have become less trusting and more distant from the clinic’s staff, and having a diverse team of staff will directly impact boosting cultural communication, increasing patient confidence, and diminishing health inequities. For this reason, investing in diversity has been a successful pathway to not only addressing ethical demands but sustaining the development of an organization and providing safe, effective, and equitable care.

Conclusion

Slide 8

Having a culturally competent healthcare system, inclusive and diverse, is crucial to being able to provide culturally competent healthcare to diverse patients. This committee has been formed to help identify the root causes of the challenges the Lakeland Medical Clinic faces regarding diversity, as well as to develop feasible and achievable recommendations based on best available evidence and transformed community members. The cultural commitment to cultural humility, shared decision-making, and ongoing self-reflection offers a chance for the clinic to offer better and more equitable healthcare for the patients served by the clinic today and again in the future. The work starts now after this announcement and will continue to be based on trust, access, and health outcomes over the years to come.