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Title: Cultural Competency… Add On or Add In?
By Lawrence W. James
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Not too long ago, I received a phone call from a potential client who asked me if could provide her with a policy or procedure for cultural competency that she could use at her hospital. When I asked her if she meant a set of policies and procedures, she replied “No, I need one policy or procedure that would help us to become more culturally competent in our organization.” You see, this is what her leadership team asked her for and this is what they were expecting; something quick and easy that will address this annoying little impediment to optimal quality of care and service in healthcare.
Well, as you might expect, my short answer was that there is no quick and easy pathway to cultural competence, just as there is no quick and easy pathway to quality. As everyone’s mom would say, nothing that is truly good will ever be quick or easy. So, as organizations, we all must be willing to put in the time and effort to become truly exceptional at what we do. And being culturally competent is expected to be an even bigger ingredient in the formula for being exceptional in healthcare in the 21st century.
But, more specifically, to my caller’s question, something as big or important as cultural competence is and is expected to become to our industry, cannot be summed up or embodied in one policy or procedure. That’s because it is not an “add on” but, an “add in” to the exceptional organization’s overall operating philosophy. It cannot be a stand alone policy or even group of policies. It must be an integral part of (or at least consideration within) every human resource and patient care or service policy and procedure to truly transform the way an organization helps and serves its caregivers, patients and guests.
So, now that we recognize that transforming our hospitals and health systems into more culturally competent organizations means retooling all of our human resource and patient care/service policies and procedures, it is important to know that there are several organizations that specialize in cultural competency assessment, training and development. These organizations are available to help you with this examination and retooling exercise as well as assist you with operational implementation. Please consult with your local, regional or national hospital association for their insights and recommendations on reputable firms. Once you have settled on a few firms of interest, contact them today and get started on your policy/procedure review. And remember, just because the answers you seek around cultural competency are not quick and easy doesn’t mean that your need for answers is any less urgent.
One final point worth mentioning is that we would all benefit from looking at the procedural and operational imbedding of cultural competence as not something else that we must do but, as a different way of doing what we already do; a new and improved way of doing it. After all, isn’t that what constant quality improvement really is about?
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The Center for Multicultural Competence
in Healthcare Organizations
4555 Lake Forest Drive - 650 Westlake Center
Cincinnati, OH 45242
P: 513.563.3004 - F: 513.563.3011
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