Diversity in Faith Based Hospitals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diversity in Faith Based Hospitals - Essay Example The need for change is caused by diversity problems, lack of administrative support and strict policies adopted by faith based hospitals towards patients, medical services and medical staff. Workforce diversity is one of the main issues in faith-based hospitals. Since a large number of interpersonal and inter-group problems are related in some way to job maladjustments, culturally successful organizations provide an environment conducive to identifying and utilizing different ways of doing things. Fogel and Rivera (2004) admit that: 'the expansion in size and influence of religiously-controlled health systems is impeding patient access to comprehensive health services, including reproductive health services, patients' end of life decisions, and patients' access to research involving emerging medical technologies" (p. 725). The main problems identified by research literature are that faith-based hospitals fail to address diversity problems and manage cultural diversity. During the research, it was found that the large number of faith-based hospitals fails to employ diverse medical staff while some other hospitals fail to meet cultural differences and expectations of thei r patients (Leininger and McFarland 2002; Fogel and Rivera, 2004; Tangenberg, 2005; Tammeus 2006). In faith-based hospitals, the majority of medical staff does no... On the other hand, faith-based hospitals set strict policies for medical staff and medical care provided to patients. In faith-based hospitals, religious differences are of vital importance in the workplace. It is possible to say that religious diversity has the greatest impact on human relations than any other diversity issues. Fogel and Rivera (2004) underline that some hospitals set religious restrictions which become "a significant obstacle for patients and physicians because of the size of religiously-controlled health systems. Five of the ten largest health care systems in the United States are Catholic" (p. 275). Religion determines the way of thinking and value system, beliefs and traditions followed by faith-based hospitals. Lack of training and cultural knowledge creates communication difficulties and conflicts between medical staff and administration. The change is vital in this sphere because lack of communication and cultural misunderstanding worsen service quality and i mage of the hospital. It was found that: "some hospitals have outlived their mission and their usefulness in a particular community; others, through mismanagement, the departure of key personnel, or lack of resources have lost the ability to provide an adequate and competent level of service to their patients and the community" (Jennings et al 2002, p. 4). In faith-based hospitals, gender differences have a great influence on employee relations and interaction, behavior patterns and promotion. Despite many gains, women are still grossly underrepresented in professional and managerial jobs than male executives to be assistants to high paid professionals, and they are disproportionately overrepresented in