Building a Culture of Community in Health care
For many days, the health care has been significantly influenced by the ethnicity, the way of life, income and the regions where the people reside in (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2012). The healthcare operational systems have been operating indifferently from each other and have been operating much apart from the community life. Health care systems can be defined as a mandatory recognition of all aspects of lives of the people and not the mere taking care of only the patients admitted to the hospitals (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). It should be concerned with the aspects of living of the people which include their families, routine work and the communities they reside in. Typically, the healthcare system should be concerned with supporting all the elements of healthy living rather than the active support only in times of deprived health care. In our evolving world, most of the communities are focused on redefining the health care systems through addressing the social and physical conditions in which the people live in and affect their health. Purnell (2012) states that with the intense changes in the demographics which entail the changes in ethnic diversity, education levels, and the age, community life becomes a relevant factor to consider in the development of a culture of the community in the healthcare. The establishment of a culture of the community in the healthcare system requires a bunch of leaders who comprehend the interrelation of diverse ideas, professional collaboration, shared values and the community as a whole (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). The success and sustainability of the health care system rely on these leaders; thus the elements as mentioned earlier are of relevance for the negative impaction in the health field. This exposition is based on the vivid conceptualization of the interrelation between values, thinking, collaboration and community in the leverage of positive outcomes of the healthcare service providence.
In our modern world, the requirements of the general care aimed at imparting health reforms in the society are being implemented in different ways across various regions and communities. It is evident that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is transforming concerning who can have access to the health care and other elements that go hand in hand with the health care providence (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). The care is delivered, catered for financially and the interaction of the medical service providers and the patients who experience the medical attention (Plough, 2015). The developments in the health scope based on this perspective presents an opportunity for the real changes in the society. Besides, this serves as a chance for the real time researchers to focus on this area of studies in the assisting of the impacts and challenges intertwined with the transformation of focusing the health care service providence on the community interests. Plough (2015) argues that there is a chance to positively interfere with the status quo that maintains the elimination of the health care disparities which are supported on the social, environmental and the overall community differences. Therefore, it will be possible for an actualization of a movement that defines and supports the multifaceted vision regarding the health culture to replace the preceding soiled approach of the medical service. Such a shift necessitates a sustainability in the medical field whereby the leaders ought to respect the interrelation between value ideas, thinking, collaboration and community.
Adair, Hideg, and Spence (2013) define shared values as management strategies that focus creating measurable values. These values are generated by identifying the social problems and after that addressing these problems in regards to the systems they trend in which as per this exposition is the health care system. The shared values are of the essence in the creation of opportunities for addressing the social problems. The medical profession holds itself for being accountable in the providence of quality care to both the patients and the entire well-being of the society as a whole. The changes in the health care systems dictate all the stakeholders related to the health care systems such as the physicians, and specialists to keep up with the shifts in the delivery of the health systems in not only through the advancement of technology but also through keeping up with gaining the new knowledge.
The demonstration of competence in such changes and ensuring the positive impaction towards the health systems is challenging but at the same time of primary relevance. However, in all the evolvement in the medical field, the set values that keep shaping the practices involved in modern medicine do not necessarily change (Adair, Hideg & Spence, 2013). Among such values include aspects which display an intense commitment to the professionalism of the health care. They include; progressive improvement of the care and communication with patients, delivering safe practices and avoiding possible harms, placing the patients’ preferences as vital factors in the delivery of attention and practicing the changes in medical practices (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). These shared values are commonly developed from the discussions held by the leadership of the organization and adopted for practice by other members of similar organizations. They are shared among all stakeholders of the organization and all people associated with the group in the carrying out of activities involved with the organization.
Diversity is centered on valuing the differences of people and addressing the situations and needs they direct to (Langner & Seidel, 2015; Purnell, 2012). Similarly, ideas diversity in the healthcare field directs to the varying differences in ideas and differing perspectives of people towards different situations. The varying of these ideas allows an opportunity for the expression of different ideas that can have an influence in various situations. Diversity experienced in the expression of ideas is of relevance in evidence the importance of the cultural competence embraced in the health systems. Diverse views are as a result of different innovations and creativity, but they are all directed at coming up with safe and efficient medical services (Langner & Seidel, 2015). The only similarity between diverse ideas and shared values is that both are of the essence in the delivery of quality health care. However, they differ in that shared values do not acknowledge differences in the already discussed and incorporated values in the system. On the contrary, diverse ideas embrace differences that may arise within the organization and consider the actualization of ideas towards solving an issue of the common problem. Shared values agree only with the solving the problems through approach derived and consented from the top leadership.
Segatto et al. (2013) explain systemic thinking in management as a holistic approach that is concerned with the comprehension of a particular system through evaluating all the components that make up the interaction of that system. The aspect of systematic thinking is vital in the management of situations that are complex and straightforward answers cannot be derived easily. The intent of using the system thinking is to come up with effective action through looking at the present situation as a whole rather than separate entities. In essence, it is concerned with viewing the interrelationship in the situation rather than the separate entities that lead to upheaval of the situation. There is much similarity between system thinking and the shared values in that they both are concerned with common elements of an organization as a whole.
However, the difference arises in that system thinking is concerned with the solving of the solution while the shared values are concerned with the determination of the running of activities in the organization. Active profession community is of relevance in the progress of any organizational activities. Among the potential advantages connected with professionalism in the community include; increase in responsibility towards achieving the necessary performance, increasing the individual’s commitment towards work and the promotion of innovation and creativity intended for more organizational learning (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). The professional community is dependent on the shared values, systematic thinking and the diversity of ideas.
The internal community serves as both the support of the reason behind the failure of most organizations. It is formed by a group of people who are satisfied and believe in the brand or practices within the organization thus they can adequately safeguard the interests of these particular groups. The internal communities in the business scope are among the networks in a business that form fundamental marketing channel through directing other users to the business through the shared testimonial. Purnell (2012) asserts that the health care system internal community directs other community members to the health care facilities. On the other hand, the external community refers to the people who indirectly affect the health care systems. Such people interrelate with the organizations through the facilitation conducted by the organization.
The external community is not much acquainted to the organizations as compared to the internal community. New opportunities can be easily identified through the evaluation of the external community. System thinking aids in the shaping of both the internal and external communities in health care field through recognizing the people that make up the community (Bingham & O’Leary, 2014). System thinkers understand the need for the people in the community to become good team players. Similarly, they shape the community through the recognizing of people through their perceptions, thus can easily determine purpose and use the process to introduce change to the community and deliver good performance. System thinking instills a belief system, viewpoints, and perception through the culture to the health organizations hence influences the general embracement of either the internal or external communities to the organization’s processes.
Professional collaboration is a concept that is defined by several attributes. However, there are some commonly shared attributes by several professionals which clearly define this term such as the sharing of plans, solving the problems, efficient coordination, assuming equal responsibility, efficient communication between the partners and working together cooperatively (“Inter-professional Collaboration and Learning | ACT Health,” 2016). Profession collaboration is an important aspect of team work. The collaboration is deemed as both a process and an outcome in which the point of interest cannot be addressed by individuals but need an overall approach from the key stakeholders. Professional collaboration dictates an approach to any situation through the weighing of different views and opinions from all the professions in the organization. The collaborative processes include the processing of different perspectives so as to clearly understand complex situations. The outcome of professional collaboration is the coming up with an overall integrative solution that cannot be accomplished by individual effort but needs approach from the entire organization. Professional collaboration across different health sectors affect the sense of the organization towards internal community and external community.
As from the understanding of what profession collaboration is, the internal community forms an important element in the decision-making of the health sectors. Langner and Seidel (2015) opine that the internal community is directly affected by any professional decision made. Therefore, profession collaboration understands the significance of weighing all opinions from all the stakeholders of the organization which includes the internal community. The internal community becomes a relevant element in all the processes of the organization since all decisions are made in consideration of the opinions from the members of the internal organization. As from the professional collaboration perspective, the external community does not have a strong attachment to the practices of the organization thus is not strongly applauded as compared to the internal community.
In essence, successful health care services in a community embrace diverse ideas, systemic thinking, professional collaboration and considers the overall welfare of the community that it is operating in. The ideas in every organization are defined by the culture that is emulated by the people making up the organization. Similarly, it is the culture that defines the community in which the ideas are developed from. Professional collaboration is the fundamental element in an organization that leads to the foundation of many ideas and embracement of the ideas. Since the professionals work in cooperation and under team work, many ideas are easily formulated and evaluated for their viability. In essence, the ideas, culture and professional collaboration are interrelated in that they depend on each other and are essential in support of the health care services in a community.
References
Act Government. (2016). Inter-professional Collaboration and Learning | ACT Health. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.health.act.gov.au/professionals/allied-health/inter-professional-learning
Adair, W. L., Hideg, I., & Spence, J. R. (2013). The culturally intelligent team the impact of team cultural intelligence and cultural heterogeneity on team shared values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 941-962.
Bingham, L. B., & O’Leary, R. (2014). Big ideas in collaborative public management. New York: Routledge.
Langner, B., & Seidel, V. P. (2015). Sustaining the flow of external ideas: The role of dual social identity across communities and organizations. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(4), 522-538.
McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2011). Community health and wellness: Primary health care in practice. Chatswood, N.S.W: Elsevier Australia.
Plough, A. L. (2015). Building a culture of health: A critical role for public health services and systems research. American Journal of Public Health, 105(2), 150–152.
Purnell, L. D. (2012). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach. Philadelphia: FA Davis.
Segatto, M., Inês Dallavalle de Pádua, S., & Pinheiro Martinelli, D. (2013). Business process management: a systemic approach? Business Process Management Journal, 19(4), 698-714.
Swayne, L. E., Duncan. W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2012). Strategic management of health care organizations. London: John Wiley & Sons.
