Nurse leaders discuss actions leading to meaningful DEI implementation

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts still have a long way to go in health care, and nurse leaders can accelerate that change by prioritizing it operationally, expanding recruitment pipelines and fostering internal cultures that support diverse staff, said a panel of nursing and DEI leaders this week at AONL 2023. Such culture change should start with the C-suite executives, who can build trust among staff by modeling active listening, said Ena Williams, PhD, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer, Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Leaders should also ensure that DEI officers are not lone wolves tasked with shifting entire organizations’ attitudes about DEI, and should ensure the organization’s board and C-suite collaborate to uplift this work, said Tiffany Love, PhD, APRN. Love is chief executive officer and founder of the Love Leadership Foundation, a nonprofit that provides education and training to develop health care leaders from all backgrounds.