Supporting Diversity in Nursing: 5 Best Practices

Cultural competence is an important aspect of delivering high quality care. One way to achieve this is by supporting diversity in nursing, which better ensures that patients and staff from all backgrounds feel seen and understood in the healthcare space. As the demographics of the U.S. population continue to expand, there’s an increasing need for the healthcare workforce to mirror this shift.

Building inclusivity within nursing and cultural diversity is an ongoing process that requires thoughtful and comprehensive efforts from nurses and other healthcare professionals at all levels. We’ll outline best practices that facility leaders can follow to strengthen their system-wide initiatives and support a more culturally diverse environment, leading to better staffing and patient outcomes

What Is Nursing Diversity?

You may be wondering, what is cultural diversity in nursing and why does it matter for healthcare facilities? Health researchers have long recognized the importance of fostering a workforce that reflects the communities they serve. Particularly in nursing, this signifies the need to recruit and retain individuals who are underrepresented within the profession.

Racial Diversity

According to the National Nursing Workforce Survey, the majority (roughly 80%) of registered nurses (RNs) identify as White or Caucasian. This means that in order to foster diversity, there must be a focus on recruiting individuals from Black, African American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaskan/Hawaiian native, and Pacific Islander communities.

Gender Diversity

About 88% of RNs identify as female. While the number of nurses who identify as male is increasing each year, additional efforts are needed to break down gender stereotypes and biases that may be drawing men away from the nursing profession.

Additionally, 0.3% of RNs in the survey marked “other” when describing their gender identity compared to 1.6% of the general population. As such, it’s important to both recognize and increase representation of individuals who identify as nonbinary or with a gender that doesn’t match sex at birth.

Socioeconomic Background Diversity

Nursing degree programs usually require extensive time spent in classrooms and clinical settings, making it difficult to work and go to school at the same time. Many financially insecure individuals who may be interested in pursuing a career in nursing forgo the opportunity and instead enter directly into the income-earning workforce.

It’s important that scholarships and financial aid opportunities expand for individuals who want to enter the profession but may not feel empowered to do so. As healthcare costs continue to rise, the knowledge, insight, and life experiences of these individuals are incredibly powerful in promoting preventative care and boosting overall wellness for patients of similar backgrounds.

Why Is Diversity in Nursing Important?

A more diverse nursing workforce leads to a healthier environment for both patients and staff. Nurses from underrepresented groups are more likely to advocate for their own communities and educate peers on how to deliver culturally competent care. Additionally, patients often prefer being treated by a team that reflects their own identities and backgrounds. This can lead to improved outcomes and reduced health disparities for underserved populations.

Among staff, supporting diversity is also necessary to reduce systemic racism and discrimination affecting minority nurses. For example, research has shown that peer-to-peer racism is, unfortunately, quite common among nurses. As such, there is an urgent need to elevate the collective voices and experiences of nurses from underrepresented communities.

What Are Some Barriers to Multicultural Nursing and Diversity?

Before exploring solutions to improve cultural diversity in nursing, it’s important to recognize some of the challenges of developing a culturally congruent workforce. Only then can diversity, equity, and inclusion teams develop effective and meaningful solutions that prioritize and celebrate diversity. It’s helpful to look at some of the barriers to a more diverse nursing workforce. Examples include the following:

Supporting Cultural Diversity and Nursing Equity: 5 Best Practices

Now that you can answer the question, What is diversity in healthcare and why is it important? you may be looking for ways to boost diversity in your organization. Here are five strategies for increasing diversity in nursing (examples included) to help you get started.

1. Gather Data That Informs a Strategic Plan Tailored to Your Facility

The efforts needed to support diversity will largely depend on the culture and environment at your facility. First and foremost, assess whether your workforce is representative of your patient population. For instance, if you primarily serve Hispanic communities, assigning nurses who can communicate with and understand the cultural needs of these patients can break down barriers to patient-centered care.

Additionally, establish safe platforms for minority nurses to voice concerns or share their experiences in the workplace. Consider sending out staff surveys or creating a grievance system — perhaps with the help of a chief diversity officer — to identify areas in which diversity and inclusion need more work.

Example:

A healthcare facility tracking language needs finds that 40% of their patients require a Spanish translator. Using this data, leadership is able to reallocate funds to reimburse nurses who are willing to take Spanish language classes (including medical jargon workshops). They further encourage nurses by allowing them to use their Spanish language education hours toward professional development and clinical ladder hours.

2. Diversify Your Recruitment Practices

Once you have an understanding of the needs of your staff and patients, reevaluate your recruitment strategy accordingly. Educate your recruiters about potential biases that may be hindering inclusivity in the hiring process. For example, job descriptions should be written with language that encourages qualified candidates of all genders, cultures, and backgrounds to apply.

Additionally, ensure your recruitment team is attending career fairs and events that are centered around diversity and inclusion efforts. This may also include virtual or social media-based initiatives that reach candidates from underrepresented groups.

Example:

Using evidence-based hiring practices to guide the recruitment process, a local hospital blinds incoming applications to avoid name-related unconscious biases that could unintentionally hinder inclusive hiring practices.

3. Foster Diversity in Nursing Education

A lack of minority educators can signal to students that the nursing profession doesn’t value diversity. While academic education is delivered at universities, facilities also play a role in establishing clinical preceptorship programs that train future nursing professionals.

Consider providing incentives, such as minority scholarships or educational credits, as a way to recruit underrepresented nurses into preceptorship roles. This can also be done in collaboration with universities that partner with your facility for their clinical rotations.

Example:

A diversity committee is empowered by its leadership with a set number of working hours per month to design an educational event around inclusion in nursing. These events are held once a quarter and always culminate with a team-building discussion that serves as a group-mentoring forum.

4. Build Representation on Leadership Teams

In a survey of over 5,600 nurses, more than half of respondents experienced an act of racism by a manager/supervisor in the workplace. Additionally, over half of those who spoke up about these incidents said that their efforts led to no action.

Beyond recruiting nurses from underrepresented backgrounds, it’s important to lead by example and increase diversity in nursing leadership. Nurses must be seen and heard in order for change to occur. For minority groups, being able to turn to a leader who shares the same lived experiences as them fosters the trust and communication needed to build an inclusive environment.

Example:

Intentional leadership pathways are developed by a skilled nursing facility (SNF) through a scholarship program for administrative (or leadership adjacent) degrees that concludes with a paid internship with leadership at participating, sister facilities. Those graduates then enjoy preferred hiring status when openings occur.

5. Bridge Gaps in Understanding Among Your Staff

Fostering diversity also requires ongoing conversation and reflection to understand how to best support underrepresented nurses. If acts of racism and discrimination are reported at your facility, it’s important to unpack the root of these incidents. Open up dialogue with your staff and find ways to educate your workforce directly from the voices of minority nurses.

Addressing racism requires long-term, individual efforts to unlearn harmful biases and stereotypes. While this can take time, consider starting with resources and toolkits provided by the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing and the American Nurses Association.

Example:

A nursing manager includes questions around cultural diversity and nursing experiences within routine feedback. The results from these questions are shared anonymously during quarterly meetings, with follow-up discussions and group-level interventions to ensure that nursing diversity is respected, appreciated, and protected as a collaborative priority.

Discover More Ways to Facilitate Diverse Representation

It’s important to recognize that building diversity in nursing and fostering inclusion requires a broad and multifaceted approach. With IntelyCare’s broad collection of facility guides and management insights, you won’t have to search for the best practices that can help you drive a healthier, more diverse workforce.