reviewing and analyzing articles that contribute to the healthcare

BHA 3202, Standards for Health Care Staff 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

4. Discuss the impact personal skills have on the workplace.
4.1 Analyze the role that cultural competency plays in effective healthcare administration.

5. Discuss the importance of healthcare organization values.

5.1 Evaluate how communication skills support organizational culture, mission, and philosophy.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

4.1 Unit Lesson Unit V Article Critique

5.1

Unit Lesson
Chapter 8 Reading
Article Reading
Unit V Article Critique

Reading Assignment

Chapter 8: Communication Within an Organization

Additional Reading Assignment:

In order to access the following resource, click the link below.

Gupta, A. (2015). To analysis the role of group dynamics in organization. International Journal of

Multidisciplinary Approach and Studies, 2(3), 170–175.
http://ijmas.com/upcomingissue/22.03.2015.pdf

Unit Lesson

In reflecting back over his talk with Jane last week, José has started wondering whether there is a situation
where there can be too much talking and not enough listening. He knows that Jane has addressed this before
in helping him identify the nonverbal communication that accompanies his words, but he knows that her
points about listening—really listening to what the other person is saying—are important as well. Therefore,
José goes to Jane to ask her about how he can listen better.

Jane is pleased that José is interested in learning to listen better. She explains to him that there are generally
three things that can keep a person from hearing what is being said, which are listed below.

• Truth triggers: These are comments that we feel are not fair or true and make us want to immediately
respond and defend ourselves.

• Relationship triggers: These are sender-related comments where we may have positive or negative
feelings about the person sending us the message.

• Identity triggers: These are hot-button items that set us off because they take a hit at our sense of self
(Stone & Heen, 2014).

Jane points out that these triggers play a large role in communication within any healthcare organization, and
the healthcare administrator has to be able to identify these triggers, help others recognize them, and turn off

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Communicating Values

BHA 3202, Standards for Health Care Staff 2

the triggers before all communication is affected between the healthcare organization’s employees. She tells
José that understanding the organizational chart can help improve communication and aid in listening to what
is being shared.

Jane explains to José that communication can occur upward or downward in an organization as well as
horizontally and diagonally (Colbert & Katrancha, 2016). She also explains that communication can occur
between individuals and within groups and that groups can communicate through reports, policies, and
procedure directives. The organizational culture and the mission or philosophy statement of an organization
are clear forms of communication about how the organization operates and what it expects of its employees.
José is very aware of another and more hidden layer of culture and communication: formal and informal
groups. In fact, he has seen how informal groups in his department can undermine what the department is
doing formally.

José does some research and finds that group processes are based on the social identity and the importance
of the group. Communication within the group is determined by the motivation each member has and how
valued the members feel. He discovers that there are different types of groups, which are listed below.

• Command groups: These are formal groups reflected in an organizational chart.
• Task groups: A task group is one set up with one purpose or goal in mind and often disbanded when

the goal is reached. This group has a timeline to meet the specified goal.
• Functional groups: This group is similar to a task group but has no timeline to meet and may continue

when the goal is reached.

Consider This!

It is important to understand who reports to whom in any healthcare organization. There are chains of
command, and going through the proper channels is important to ensure that organizational values are
maintained. This helps ensure appropriate actions are taken based on the communication and message
that needs to be shared.

José decides that he needs to make his own organizational chart to better envision where he will fit into
the organization should he be hired as the healthcare administrator. He lists the major department heads
and will need to create a chart to show the reporting structure.

General Administration

• Chief Executive Officer/President (CEO)
• Chief of Medicine (CMO)
• Chief of Nursing (CNO)
• Chief Operations Officer (COO)
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Chief of Support Services/Human Resources (CSS)

Healthcare Administration

• Healthcare Administrator (HA)
• Office Manager (OM)
• Medical Staff (MS)
• Nursing Staff (NS)
• Ancillary Staff (AS)

How does your organizational structure compare based on the departments and department heads José
has identified?

Can you identify the reporting structure in your organization? As you think about the organizational
structure, consider who reports directly to whom and who may report to whom informally or unofficially or
across departments. Make your own chart to better visualize the structure.

BHA 3202, Standards for Health Care Staff 3

• Interest groups: These groups are formed because of some specific interest the members have. They
may be formal or informal and often are not associated with an organization, though all members may
be a part of the same organization.

• Friendship groups: As the name implies, these groups are made up of friends and often meet socially
to do activities together (Gupta, 2015).

José finds that he is beginning to better understand what the different groups in his department are and how
they are influencing communication related to his healthcare organization’s culture, mission, and goals. José
realizes he needs to learn more about cultural competency and diversity in his healthcare organization
because they also play a large role in how the employees communicate. He learns, as he reads more about
cultural competency, that this is a key component in providing quality patient care as well. In fact, the whole
concept of cultural competency is so important that he finds that the U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services has a website devoted to this for healthcare professionals. It is deemed as one of the most critical
values a healthcare organization can promote. It will ensure success of the organization as well as drive
positive patient outcomes.

José has discovered that communication is a complex process and that personal communication and
organizational communication is not the same thing. He also now realizes they both require many of the same
skills. The same skills he uses in his personal life to improve communication will translate to help him
communicate more effectively as an administrator, both up and down the chain of command. Ultimately,
communication within a healthcare organization is vital to providing quality patient care and ensuring that a

department is running smoothly. José has learned that cultural competence is more than simply knowing that
not everyone comes from a different background; rather, if we are not aware of the differences and do not
work together to overcome them, no healthcare organization can meet its mission and philosophy (Gupta,
2015; Stone & Heen, 2014).

References

Colbert, B. J., & Katrancha, E. D. (2016). Career success in health care: Professionalism in action (3rd ed.).

Cengage Learning.

Gupta, A. (2015). To analysis the role of group dynamics in organization. International Journal of

Multidisciplinary Approach and Studies, 2(3), 170–175.

Stone, D., & Heen, S. (2014). Thanks for the feedback: The science and art of receiving feedback well.

Viking.

Consider This!

José visits the following website to learn about cultural competency:
https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov. The website is devoted to healthcare professionals and teaching
them about their role in culturally competent care. He selected the Education tab at the top of the
webpage, clicked on the Nurses link from the dropdown menu, and then clicked on Begin Program to
see what courses they had to offer. The registration and courses were free, and José began the first
course.

In the course, he learned what cultural competency is and why it is important for healthcare
organizations to be aware of and practice.

Consider registering for this series of courses to find out what José learned.

BHA 3202, Standards for Health Care Staff 4

Suggested Reading

In order to access the following resource, click the link below.

To learn more about culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS), visit the following webpage to
read more on how to help ensure your healthcare organization supports the U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services CLAS standards.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2016). National CLAS standards.

https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/clas

Learning Activities (Nongraded)

Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.

In order to access the following resource, click the link below.

You are encouraged to visit the following website, just as José did, to further your professional development.
There you will find a series of courses designed to help the healthcare provider who is a nurse learn more
about providing culturally competent health care. Register for the free courses, and learn more about the
importance of cultural and linguistic considerations in providing quality health care to patients by clicking the
link below.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Program details.

https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/education/nurses