Diversity and inclusion are big topics in business today. While it’s something many organizations are striving for, it’s not always understood on a statistical or emotional level. When employees don’t feel as though they’re part of the team, the consequences can mount up to something much bigger. Feeling “apart” takes a toll on not only performance, but also the health of the employee. Likewise, a lack of diversity means a lack of varied experience. This can hold the whole team back, and foster a lack of understanding.

Healthcare bears a unique responsibility when it comes to fostering an environment of comfort and consideration. Understanding the needs of patients is much more than tending to wounds and performing surgeries. At its core, it’s about empathy. When empathy and understanding exist within the work environment, only then can they effectively translate to the realm of care. 

In this episode, Managing Board Member Christoph Zindel interviews Prof. Dr. Ulrike Attenberger.  Professor Attenberger is Director of the Clinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Bonn University Hospital in Germany, and a member of the Diversity @ DRG Commission. Her interest in gender diversity led to her contribution to a 2018 special report entitled “Women in radiology: gender diversity is not a metric—it is a tool for excellence”, published by European Radiology.

In today’s conversation, you’ll hear about the positive influence of a diverse workforce within the healthcare sector. Professor Attenberger believes that diversity allows us to embrace dimensionality, and shares how this reflects positively in the workplace. She also reveals the ways in which inclusivity can be achieved through organizational reforms, and how it has the capacity to benefit physicians as well as patients. 

Some Questions Asked:

• What is diversity and inclusion for you? (2:15)
• How should physicians take diversity into account in their work and training? (10:46)
• What can be done to increase the representation of women in leadership? (15:22)
• How do you foster inclusion at the University Hospital in Bonn, and in medicine as a whole? (22:38)

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The dangers of homogeneous healthcare (4:49)
• The most important aspect of building a successful team (7:35) 
• What we know about unconscious bias (13:23)
• Ideas about how we can close the gap on gender-based career obstacles (19:25)

Connect with Ulrike Attenberger:

• University Hospital Bonn

Connect with our Managing Board Member, Christoph Zindel: 

•  LinkedIn

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