Diversity and Examining Health Disparities Essay

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Desir, E. (2014). Exploring Obstacles to Success for Early Careerists in Healthcare Leadership. J Healthc Manag., 59(4), 250-3.

The article begins with an introduction covering a short story about a young man of Caribbean descent. He showed remarkable leadership skills and attended a top-tier pre-med program. During his time as an MHA student, he was accepted into an internship program. However, his limited exposure to a healthcare environment led to not being accepted to two top medical centers' paid administrative fellowships. Someone else, a woman, who grew up with CEOs and healthcare leaders in her family, was able to do everything needed to secure her position in the fellowship program and took an impressive job in the healthcare system. This example showed how a person of color who is needed in a country like the United States (with a higher concentration of minorities than other countries) could not secure a good job in the healthcare system.

It demonstrates that regardless of potential or effort, without adequate exposure to the healthcare environment, a person like the young man will not make it to a position of leadership in healthcare. With an increasing minority population these minority leaders are needed in the healthcare system. Therefore, the article suggests introducing students (minority and those of low-socioeconomic-status) to healthcare administration early on. This can be achieved through elimination of disparities in healthcare leadership through leadership development initiatives and succession plans. These programs appeared at the university level and helped students with mock interviews, resume reviews, and networking sessions.

Dotson, E. & Nuru-Jeter, A. (2012). Setting the stage for a business case for leadership diversity in healthcare: history, research, and leverage. J Healthc Manag, 57(1), 35-44. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22397103

The article discusses how leveraging diversity to positively sway operations should be a business imperative for numerous healthcare organizations. The new era brings with it the potential for a patient-centered, culturally competent care that minimizes not only healthcare disparities, but also overall health disparities. By describing the need for research on leadership diversity and managerial solutions within healthcare organizations, the article offers further discussion and focus on other topics such as policy, clinical, as well as management implications that will aid in improving diversity of leadership in healthcare organizations thus minimizing existing or future healthcare and health disparities.

Historical settings familiarize the reader with facets of the described business case for leveraging leadership diversity centered on an aspiration for an ethnically and culturally competent care institute. The article makes a point to share the lack of research existing that focuses on that impact the role of leadership often plays when it comes to addressing health and healthcare disparities from a viewpoint with emphasis on healthcare management. The article also offers researchers and practitioners with a reasoning to capitalize in leadership diversity. Through discussion of three strategies that will assist in setting the platform for a business case. The first strategy involves providing empirical confirmation of the connection between performance and diversity. The second strategy involves linking investments in diversity to organizational metrics of success as well as financial outcomes. The third strategy is holding organizational leadership accountable for cultural competence and categorizing it as a performance measure.

Fontenot, T. (2012). Leading ladies: women in healthcare leadership. Front Health Serv Manage, 28(4), 11-21.

The 2012 article discusses women and their representation as a vast majority within the healthcare workforce. Women are seen primarily in the nursing profession, but are growing in number in other medical professions making women uniquely positioned within the healthcare world to leverage traits such as pellucidity, compassion, and the aptitude to nurture teamwork to lead organizations into the new era of modern healthcare delivery. While before men were the ones leading organizations, women can now take the lead and provide the level of skill not seen before. The article continues by adding in the future, women will gain access to C-suited at an accelerated rated because organizations have gun embracing diversity. By choosing the best qualified leaders with regards to both leadership type as well as experience, it will support enhanced and diversified organizational culture.

The article remarks on the bright future women have in healthcare and healthcare leadership. However, it also remarks on the struggles women in the present have in order to reach the executive office. Women in healthcare face competing priorities such as raising a family and having a career, facing glass ceilings due to preconceived notions of women in the workplace, and lack of access to sufficient guidance and support.

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By discussing the roles women currently have in healthcare leadership plus the potential they could have, the article seeks to provide practical suggestions on how women may achieve their aspirations and objectives along with reaching the top echelon of their career path in healthcare.

Grant, S. (2010). Diversity in healthcare: driven by leadership. Front Health Serv Manage., 26(3), 41-4.

The article opens up with the issue of diversity as an organizational leadership issue. This kind of issue typically is addressed via legal policies with regards to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination statutes. Continuing with further clarification of the concept of diversity in that it is inclusive, ultimately influencing the international community. The article brings in the idea that diversity is driven through the efforts of flexible leaders. These kinds of leaders value change. The problem is, most organization fail to recruit such leaders and instead cater to the majority population within the organization. As a result, leaders selected do not represent the diversity within the organization or encourage it.

The article mentions the fact that most hospital leaders are Caucasian men, even in communities where the majority population served fall under the minority category. Organizational behavior remains a major aspect of successful diversification. While regulatory and legal guidelines have progressed the reduction of diversity inequalities, there also needs to be changed added to healthcare systems. Meaning, employees and leaders must be trained to transform existing culture within the organization to the desired culture that includes and promotes diversity. They conclude by explaining real change necessitates hard work. Hard work comes from raising awareness not just about races and ethnicity, but about cultures and religious beliefs. Finally, they explain only 6% of hospital CEOs are non-white presenting another issue: for diversity to prevail in an organization, it must start at the top.

KIM, T. & Thompson, J. (2012). Organizational and market factors associated with leadership development programs in hospitals: a national study. J Healthc Manag, 57(2), 113-31. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22530292

Effective leadership is important and is universally recognized as the main factor to effective organizational performance. Financial, operational, and clinical performance is progressively being connected to the leadership practices of administrative parties like hospital managers. Additionally, the article continues suggesting describing what effective leadership entails, relating it as a means to accomplish a unique competitive advantage. This competitive advantage can help provide solutions to the problems becoming more apparent as seen in the least five years. Recent reimbursement changes, increased competition, and environmental forces have sent numerous hospitals to heighten their focus on the cultivation of leadership competencies so they may address such growing challenges.

Leadership is an important part of any organization and provides the motive for discussion of the framework from which the study derives its motives. Through the utilization of resource dependence theory, the authors discuss career development resources, a diversity plan, and the presence of leadership development programs. The study took information from AHA, American Hospital Associations 2008 Survey of Hospitals results and examined them through multilevel logistics regressions. They examined market factors, system and network affiliation, and saw it positively related. They also discuss other implications for effective hospital management like raising awareness of cultural diversity and creating leadership opportunities for varying groups. Career development and leadership programs offer opportunities for those looking to be leaders to build upon their already existing skills, or generate new skills to positively affect hospital management.

Lowe, F. (2013). Keeping Leadership White: Invisible Blocks to Black Leadership and Its Denial in White Organizations. Journal of Social Work Practice, 27(2), 149-162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2013.798151

The article covers a controversial topic which remains a prevalent issue even in modern times. That issue is majority white leadership. Leadership, in particular senior leadership within British organizations remains almost always white with few or rare exceptions. Although society paints the picture that there is equal opportunity in the world for those of color that is not the case. Research reveals that most if not all leadership opportunities are given or taken by whites and non-whites remain in non-leadership positions. This primitive and at times unconscious dynamic, factors into guaranteeing leadership remains white and reproduces a racial hierarchy that cannot be overcome easily in the workplace. The research from the article contends racial and ethnic barriers exist for black and other minorities in terms of being appointed to leadership positions.

The opportunities not afforded to those of color are done so through hidden and at times unconscious decisions made by those at the top. These decision….....

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