Introduction
This presentation identifies and appraises healthcare equity and leadership with the consideration of the exemplars. It examines the impact of healthcare equity and leadership on the needs of nurses to make clinical decisions at a high level. It also includes an analysis of the emerging health initiatives surrounding healthcare equity and leadership and methods to advance workplace communication.
Healthcare Equity
According to Braveman et al. (2017), Healthcare Equity ”means reducing and ultimately eliminating disparities in health and its determinants that adversely affect excluded or marginalized groups” (p. 4). The problem is especially acute in the United States with minorities population.
Benefits:
- Increasing Social Justice;
- Improves the overall health of the US population;
- Decrease in overall costs.
Leadership
In common sense, leadership “is often defined as the act of inspiring and motivating employees to work for a common goal” (Furunes, 2020, p. 136). In healthcare, an effective leader helps to improve employee and patient results.
Issues related to low leadership skills:
- The lack of motivation in the hospital’s staff;
- Disorganization in the team;
- Reduction in the effectiveness of treatment.
How healthcare equity and leadership impact the nurses’ need to use high-level clinical judgment
Healthcare Equity:
- More stable understanding between the patient and the nurse;
- Clinical Judgement based on cultural peculiarities.
Leadership:
- More organized and structured work on the use of clinical judgment.
Health Initiatives Surrounding Healthcare Equity
Cultural competence in all medical schools’ curricula. The majority of hospitals in the US started to collect demographic data. Increase in staff diversity. Educational programs focused on developing universal leadership skills. Journal of Healthcare Leadership.
Strategies to Advance Workplace Communication Relate to Healthcare Equity and Leadership
Healthcare equity: increasing tolerance through specialized training. Leadership: more hierarchical way of communication; creating a common goal.
Conclusion
The main factors for improving the quality of healthcare related to health equity and leadership were discussed and identified. Improving equity and leadership in healthcare improves the quality of a nurse’s medical judgment. The US federal government and private organizations are promoting initiatives to develop healthcare equity and leadership in healthcare. Equity and leadership in health care foster collaboration and communication among staff in clinics and hospitals.
References
Braveman, P., Arkin, E., Orleans, T., Proctor, D., & Plough, A. (2017). What is health equity? And what difference does a definition make? Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Furunes, T. (2020). Leadership in healthcare. In Integrating the Organization of Health Services, Worker Wellbeing and Quality of Care (pp. 135-157). Springer.
Jernigan, V. B. B., Hearod, J. B., Tran, K., Norris, K. C., & Buchwald, D. (2016). An examination of cultural competence training in US medical education guided by the tool for assessing cultural competence training. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 9(3), 150
McCartney, M. (2017). Margaret McCartney: Nurses must be allowed to exercise professional judgment. Bmj, 356.