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Diploma of Practice Management

Assessment 32826/02- Working with diversity

1. Background/ Overview

Medical administration workers need to be aware of their own perspectives and biases when working with a diverse range of clients.

2. Brief

In this assessment you will apply your understandings of working with diversity in the following contexts:

1. Reflecting on your own perspectives
2. Analysing a scenario between a receptionist at CareShore and a client
3. Identifying strategies which promote  effective communication between clients and staff at CareShore
4. Matching key vocabulary with their definitions

This assessment is split into four parts:

3. Assessment Tasks

Part A – Reflecting on your own perspectives

A medical administration worker needs to be aware of their own perspectives and biases when working with clients. Imagine you are the worker alongside Serena at CareShore Medical Practice in the scenario below:

Remember that a bias is a predisposition, a prejudice, or a preference; and a cultural perspective is the way that individuals are shaped by their environments as well as social and cultural factors (including nationality, race and gender). 

Cowan identifies as an Indigenous Australian. He has a wife and five children. He is new to the area and has just started attending CareShore Medical Practice. Serena, a medical receptionist has handed Cowan a “New Patient Information Sheet” for him and his wife to fill in and sign. Serena provides the following instructions –

“Each question needs to be answered, in block lettering, and your address must be the same as the one you have provided to Medicare.”

Cowan looked at Serena with confusion on his face, but as she was looking at the New Patient Information Sheet, she didn’t notice. Serena stepped into the back room to get more stationery to refill areas that were low in stock. As she stepped in she motioned that you follow. Then she said in a whisper…..

“They’re so used to getting everything for nothing. They get free funding for all sorts of things, and they even get cheap home loans.”

“What sort of things do they get free funding for?” you enquire.

“You name it. They get it! Our government is throwing billions of dollars into Aboriginal health care, and these people sit there getting drunk every day.” She paused, and then continued. “I have to pay full dollar for everything my family needs, and their families are getting billions of dollars of free care. Not that it’ll do any good, as they just continue to smoke and drink all day every day.”

Serena attends the reception desk again, and Cowan brings up his partially completed form. “I hope this is enough,” he says unconfidently.

“Oh …” says Serena. “All questions must be answered.”

“My English is not very good,” Cowan says. “I speak broken English, but I dunno know how to write well.”

Serena starts to read out the question from the list, and as Cowan answers, she writes down the response. Cowan looks around the room with a discomfort.

“Don’t worry” Serena says, “It’s just government regulations. We must have certain information on file.

Question 1: Reflect on your own perspectives and biases and identify three actions you could take so that your perspectives and biases do not block your social awareness and thus limit your ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.
Answer the following 8 short-answer questions below. Your written answers should be approximately 40-100 words (+/-10%) per question. Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is important whether you use your own words or another writer’s. You can review the Academic Referencing Guide in your student handbook.

Question 2: Identify two areas in which you could improve your self-awareness. How might these areas   influence the way that you would engage with Cowan?

Question 3: Reflect on your own culture, (including community attitudes, language, policies and structures). Explain two ways in which your cultural practices impact upon your work, your personal life and others outside of your culture.

Question 4: Reflect on the diverse communities that make up Australian society today. What do you see as some of the key influences and changing practices in Australia?

Question 5: What are the main characteristics of the following key areas of diversity?

• Culture, race, ethnicity
• Disability
• Religious or spiritual beliefs
• Gender, including transgender
• Sexual orientation
• Intersex
• Generational

Question 6: Choose 3 areas of diversity in Australia and explain how these impact different areas of work and life in the following contexts:

• Political
• Social
• Economic
• Cultural

Question 7: How does your culture, western systems and structures impact Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander people and their engagement with health services?

Question 8: How would the following legal and ethical considerations impact Serena’s work, (the medical receptionist at CareShore), and what would be the consequences of breaches in these areas?

• Discrimination (including age, disability, racial, sex)
• Human rights (including the Universal declaration of human rights)

Part B – Responding to diversity

Remember that a value is to consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of; and respect is to have due regard for someone’s feelings, wishes or rights. 

Answer the following 4 short-answer questions below. Your written answers should be approximately 40-100 words (+/-10%) per question. Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is important whether you use your own words or another writer’s. You can review the Academic Referencing Guide in your student handbook.

Question 1: Think about Serena’s response to Cowan filling in the New Patient Information Sheet.  Now consider a different response. What if Serena had decided to call the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Line? Script a short phone interaction Serena might have with the staff attending this line in order to better support Cowan’s needs. In your script consider the following:

• Is Serena at liberty to discuss Cowan’s communication difficulties with the staff who attend this phone line?
• Would seeking assistance from an interpreter be useful in this instance?

Question 2: Thinking again about Serena’s response to Cowan filling in the New Patient Information Sheet.  Consider how she could have responded differently in this situation. Script a response as if you were Serena talking to Cowan. In your script, address the following:

• Two strategies to overcome language barriers and communicate in the most efficient way possible
• Three verbal and three non-verbal communication strategies which demonstrate respect for diversity

Question 3: An Aboriginal client may present with low socio-economic status; physical, mental and emotional health issues; and a distrust of Australia’s political system, and all systems including the health system. Taking into account these issues, explain how you could help Cowan effectively engage with the health services at CareShore Medical Practice.

Question 4: What are three significant changes CareShore could implement so that it becomes a ‘culturally safe’, ‘culturally aware’ and ‘culturally competent’ medical practice for Cowan and his family? Explain how each of these changes relates to at least one of the key concepts; ‘culturally safe’, ‘culturally aware’ and ‘culturally competent.’

Part C – Communicating with diverse people

 Remember trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something; and confidence is the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.

 Answer the following 2 short-answer questions below. Your written answers should be approximately 40-100 words (+/-10%) per question. Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is important whether you use your own words or another writer’s. You can review the Academic Referencing Guide in your student handbook.

Question 1: Consider Cowan’s wife, Amarina. She has come in with her husband as they both have a consultation with a doctor today. Unfortunately Amarina has just been told that she has not been provided an appointment with the female doctor, but the same male doctor her husband is seeing. You can see that she is physically and emotionally uncomfortable. What four verbal and non-verbal communication techniques would you use when communicating to Cowan’s wife, so that you are able to establish and maintain trust and confidence with her?

Question 2: Serena, your work colleague is clearly annoyed that the only female doctor on for today, may have to see Amarina, who hasn’t made an appointment. Serena says to you softly, “See, I told you they always get their way. No matter what, people bend over backwards when it’s someone indigenous.”

You are not aware of Serena’s full background. But you are aware that her family migrated to Australia 8-years ago from war torn Palestine. She often says that we have no idea how bad people are living over there. However, you are concerned her bias has turned into racism.

Identify the key issues that may cause misunderstandings or other difficulties for Amarina in the above scenario with Serena. How would you address Serena’s overall attitude towards Amarina so that she is aware of the impact of social and cultural diversity at CareShore?

Part D – Match the following 12 words with their correct definition then copy and paste the table into a word document.

4. Units of Competency

CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people

CHCPRP005 Engage with health professionals and the health system

5. Assessment Rubric

Below is a rubric that determines whether your answers and knowledge is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

To be deemed satisfactory, and to pass the assessment, you must complete the requirements for the column that is titled ‘satisfactory’.

It is advisable to read the rubric for the question you are answering to determine if you have fully answered the question to the correct standard.

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