CULTURAL COMPETENCY

AND DIVERSITY
By: Gladys Mutsokoti, Nathalie Sanchez, Alicia Storey, Kathryn
Sunderman
 Highlights the development of cultural
competency preparation for professional
practice in culturally diverse settings
Cultural Competency

Cultural competency- ability to understand, communicate with

and effectively interact with people across cultures.
■ Being aware of ones' own world view
■ Developing positive attitudes towards cultural differences
■ Gaining knowledge of different cultural practices
and worldviews.
What does this look like...
■ Building healthy relationships open to different cultural perspectives and
being equally respective to them.

■ Effectively communicating and interacting with others of different

cultures and backgrounds.

■ Attending workshops or training classes to correctly acquire

awareness, attitudes, knowledge, and skills, to practice cultural
competency.

■ Leaders, members, and representatives of any institution or organization

must have the ability to understand, learn, and behave appropriately.

■ Being aware of others' (clients'/colleagues) cultural backgrounds, beliefs,

and customs and meeting the unique needs (as a NP professional) they
may have as a result of their cultural differences
Diversity
Diversity-the ability to recognize and respect
everyone's unique qualities and attributes
■ Diversity does not solely have to mean race,
gender, or religious beliefs... It can also be people
who come from different backgrounds (i.e.
homeless populations, veterans, etc.)
■ A diverse environment must be inclusive and
equitable.
■ Every individual must feel respected, accepted and
valued.
■ Every individual's needs must be accommodated
and included with dignity and respect
What does this look like...
For an individual...
■ Being able to work successfully in culturally diverse settings
■ Utilizing your skills, passion and knowledge to successfully
serve others and meet their needs
■ Diversity is an opportunity for inclusion
Within an organization...
■ Having a diverse staff that specifically represents the
demographics of the organization's clients
■ Having a diverse staff that is able to meet the specific needs of a
diverse clientele (i.e. specific languages)
■ An inclusive team is a cohesive team with an opportunity to be
stronger and MORE EFFECTIVE
Interactive Assignment
As a student who now has a clear understanding and mastery of cultural competency and
diversity, identify what is wrong (or right) with these scenarios and explain how these issues
could have been handled differently...

Looking through a culturally competent and diverse lenses...

-What went wrong? OR What went right?
-If you were in these roles, how could you have better handled these situations?
 Scenario 1
The Executive Director of a medium-sized organization calls for a mandatory staff meeting, making it
clear that everyone must be present as the information that will be discussed is pertinent to every
department and staff member.
However, 4 staff members of the 23 member staff are Jewish, and this meeting happens to fall on one of
the Jewish high holidays. These staff members really would like to participate in the meeting discussion,
and do not even feel they have the option of missing. Yet, their religion is very important to them and they
do not feel comfortable neglecting the practices and traditions involving their beliefs.
In addition, since the meeting is mandatory and early in the morning (8 am), the office manager thought it
would be nice to have a huge breakfast spread for all the employees to enjoy during the meeting. This
Jewish holiday, however, requires fasting. Consequently, the Jewish staff members (should they attend the
meeting) would not even be able to enjoy the free breakfast incentive.
Both the ED and office manager were completely unaware that this meeting was scheduled to take place
on this holiday.
Scenario 2 Part 1
A new position opens in an organization whose mission focuses on homelessness, and the
hiring manager has already interviewed many candidates for the job.
The most competent and qualified candidate for the job is a combat veteran with PTSD. The
candidate has a service dog and is currently participating in an intensive outpatient therapy
program (IOP) that is helping him overcome his PTSD.
Qualifications aside, the hiring manager acknowledges that this candidate also represents an
integral demographic of their homeless clientele; veterans. Consequently, he is hired for the
position.
 Scenario 2 Part 2
During onboarding, the combat veteran new hire is given a desk in an office that is close to the
warehouse section of the facility.
This warehouse is loud, with pallet jacks that pick up and drop large heavy pallets of food and other
donated items that make sudden and loud booms that can be heard from the new employee's desk.
Although his therapy is helping him, the loud noises still trigger him and put his nerves on edge at times.
On a separate note, the office manager whose desk is by the front door, notices the new employee goes
outside several times during the day for a noticeable amount of time. The office manager gossips to one
of her colleagues that the new hire does not work very hard and is always away from his desk. What she
does not know is that he is taking his service dog out to use the restroom.
Despite all the extra challenges (such as having to take his dog out and having to miss a few hours of
work to attend his IOP therapy sessions), the new hire is learning quickly, never behind, and
produces excellent work in a timely manner.
References
Make It Our Business. (2017, June 22). What does it mean to be culturally competent? [Web log post]. Retrieved
from http://makeitourbusiness.ca/blog/what-does-it-mean-be-culturally-competent

Understanding Cultural Competency. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.humanservicesedu.org/cultural-

competency.html