International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 278 Vol.6; Issue: 1; January 2016 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article Diversity, Racism and Eurocentric- Normative Practice in Healthcare Josephine Etowa School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Received: 22/10/2015 Revised: 23/11/2015 Accepted: 07/12/2015 ABSTRACT This paper contributes to scholarship focused on promoting ethno-cultural diversity in Canada‟s health care workforce. In order to care for Canada‟s diverse population appropriately visible minorities must be better represented among both nursing staff and administration. Evidence links increased ethno- cultural diversity within organizations to a decrease in experienced microaggressions related to race. However, these studies do not address the potential role of assimilation and appeasement on the part of Minorities in easing intercultural tensions. This paper interrogates ethno- cultural „diversity‟ in the nursing workforce, concerned that advancing visible diversity does not go far enough to challenge invisible uniformity. Keywords: Diversity, Racism, Micro-aggressions, Minority Nurses, Healthcare, Assimilation. INTRODUCTION The need for greater ethno-cultural diversity within health care organizations is an issue of increasing international concern. As national populations become less homogeneous, public expectations for health care practice include greater sensitivity to cultural and personal experiences of sickness and health. Encouraging diversity within the healthcare professions is seen as a way to increase cultural sensitivity within healthcare establishments, both internationally and within Canada (Bleich et al, 2014; Kunic& Jackson, 2013; Badger et al, 2012; Choiniere, MacDonnell & Shamonda 2010). Canada‟s population has grown more and more diverse throughout its history, from the 25 distinct ethnic groups identified in 1900, to over 200 identified in the 2006 census. As of 2006 (the most recent figures available), 16.2% of Canada‟s population identify as visible minority (5,068,100 people). There are also one million Aboriginal people in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2006). Exposure to diverse cultures empowers people. It offers each of us an expanded repertoire of communication skills and enhances our ability to navigate our multicultural reality (American College of Physicians, 2004; Dunn, 2002; Gurin, 2001; Salimbene, 1999). The relationships we build, and the creativity and flexibility we gain from cross-cultural interactions are significant assets. Light (2001) found that students in an ethno- culturally mixed university learned things they would not otherwise have encountered. Similarly, Bowen and Bok (1998) found that students in „mixed‟ institutions were better able to understand and consider multiple perspectives and resolve conflict than those at schools with homogeneous student bodies. Gurin (2001)