Workforce diversity and cultural competence in healthcare

This paper presents a discussion of workforce diversity in healthcare and its attendant requisite of cultural competency. The first section of the paper argues that self-assessments and diversity training are integral to workforce diversity management. This paper maintains that diversity training should be a part of overall strategic goals, and that the development of management goals should be based on self-assessments. The second section of the review offers a framework of cultural competency in healthcare delivery based on the relationship between patient and provider, and the community and health system. For this relationship to be successful, this review argues that health systems should foster providers that can also be cultural brokers. The cultural broker role is seen as core to achieving cultural competency.