A Culturally Diverse Staff Population

Challenges and Opportunities for Nurses

Abstract

The United States is seeing an increase in ethnic and cultural diversity that is reflected (albeit to a smaller extent) in the nursing workforce. There are also more nurses who are foreign-born and educated. These nurses bring elements of their ethnic culture to the healthcare setting, including that of the “healthcare provider” culture of their home country. Often these values conflict with, or at least differ from, many American values seen in the workplace, such as autonomy of patients, an individualistic approach to relationships, peer relationships rather than hierarchical ones, democracy as an ideal norm, optimal health is ideal, and an emphasis on time/schedules and use of technology. A major cultural difference in the work setting has to do with the meaning of “work” itself, which can vary among cultural groups; in addition, some cultures are viewed as more “collective” in nature than the American ones, which are considered “individualistic.” In particular, foreign-born and educated nurses from different healthcare systems bring with them values of the political system in which they work, the concept of a socialized system of medicine, language and accent differences, different concepts of nursing duties, and varying psychosocial skills.