What do you think???

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all,

I came across a situation the other day and was wondering if anyone else might have an opinion on this subject.

I am in nusing school and one of my classmates is from Korea. Now being a minority myself (im Japaneese) I am not trying to sound predjudiced...but she is a transfer student from Korea and has been in the US for a bit (that is what she told the class). Her english is not very good and she has a very hard time understanding the instructor, ie. she said "I not speak english well can you go slow or repeat things?" i say that as a direct qoute. I was wondering do any of you kind of have a problem with her going into nursing? I mean its great what she is doing but if she cant communicate efficiently with her patients do you think that compromises her patients well being, ie do you think she could misunderstand or not understand and make a mistake?

what do you guys think, i was a little worried, i thought to myself if she cant even understand our teacher that well then will she be able to understand and fully comprehend what the patients are saying?

yes, like i said earlier, im sure she is very bright, i mean she must be to have gotten this far. Im not trying to say that she is not smart. I guess im just saying how frustrating would it be to be in the hospital and have someone taking care of you and the two of you couldnt communicate effectively, i mean on top of feeling really crappy...maybe we will be friends, like i also said earlier, our class has only been in session for a week now...we will see.....too bad she doesn speak japaneese id really like to know how to speak it...seeing as though i am japaneese and dont know hardly anything about my cultrure.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.

I have worked with a lot of nurses from various foreign countries and there are several whom I had difficulty understanding. HOWEVER, almost without exception their work was not affected except for a few rednecks who would complain about that foreighner who took care of them.

Also, I briefly lived and worked in El Paso Texas where the official language is English but the mostly spoken language is Spanish. On any given night, I might have had a team of patients and none of them spoke English. I was still able to assess their needs and provide their care. I know that's not exactly the same but it does give me a perspective of what the Korean nurse may be experiencing.

Specializes in OB.
yes, like i said earlier, im sure she is very bright, i mean she must be to have gotten this far. Im not trying to say that she is not smart. I guess im just saying how frustrating would it be to be in the hospital and have someone taking care of you and the two of you couldnt communicate effectively, i mean on top of feeling really crappy...maybe we will be friends, like i also said earlier, our class has only been in session for a week now...we will see.....too bad she doesn speak japaneese id really like to know how to speak it...seeing as though i am japaneese and dont know hardly anything about my cultrure.

Yes, it is frustrating when there isn't effective communication between yourself and your patient. It goes both ways. I go through ineffective communication a lot with many of my Spanish-only speaking patients or other patients who do not speak English at all. But I can't deny them of my nursing care nor can you deny your classmate of a chance to become a nurse.

Yes, it is frustrating when there isn't effective communication between yourself and your patient. It goes both ways. I go through ineffective communication a lot with many of my Spanish-only speaking patients or other patients who do not speak English at all. But I can't deny them of my nursing care nor can you deny your classmate of a chance to become a nurse.

who said anything about denying her of a chance to become a nurse?? or that we should deny anyone health care?? I was asking more on along the lines of has anyone worked with anyone who wasnt fluent and their language barrier caused them to make a bad mistake? geez I never said the girl cant or shouldnt be a nurse.

Specializes in OB.
who said anything about denying her of a chance to become a nurse?? or that we should deny anyone health care?? I was asking more on along the lines of has anyone worked with anyone who wasnt fluent and their language barrier caused them to make a bad mistake? geez I never said the girl cant or shouldnt be a nurse.

I didn't really mean that "you" were denying her a chance to become a nurse, but you did state in your OP that you were "kind of bothered" by the fact that she can't speak English well. In that sense, you already pre-judged her to be incapable of becoming a good nurse. And in my experience, I know a lot of nurses who don't speak English fluently, but are wonderful nurses. If, as you said, you were really asking if anyone has worked with someone who has made a bad mistake as a result from their language barrier, than you should have stated it that way in your OP.

I really think galaxy is being misunderstood. I don't think (correct me galaxy if I am wrong) she meant to sound judgemental or critical. It sounded more to me like you are just concerned for pt safety and maybe wondering about what you could/should do to help the situation. If I remember correctly didn't you clearly state you had no intention of making any probs for this student or reporting her or anything? If I am understanding it correctly and you really would rather just help then I think making friends with her could be beneficial to both of you. After all the more we know of other languages and cultures the more in demand we would be.

Specializes in OB.
I really think galaxy is being misunderstood. I don't think (correct me galaxy if I am wrong) she meant to sound judgemental or critical. It sounded more to me like you are just concerned for pt safety and maybe wondering about what you could/should do to help the situation. If I remember correctly didn't you clearly state you had no intention of making any probs for this student or reporting her or anything? If I am understanding it correctly and you really would rather just help then I think making friends with her could be beneficial to both of you. After all the more we know of other languages and cultures the more in demand we would be.

I do understand the concern of galaxy781, and yes, a patient's safety can be compromised. I was just going by her OP and replies. To answer her last question about whether I know of anyone who has made a "bad mistake" due to a language barrier... no, I haven't. My opinion, and I've said this before, is that not being able to speak perfect English does not necessarily mean that it will make someone a bad nurse.

Galaxy781, I apologize if I misunderstood or offended you in any way. My advice to you is to make friends with your classmate and help each other learn so that the both of you will become wonderful nurses some day.

Thank you bellcollector,

those were my exact intentions, well said, obviously better than i could have put it, if some people would read the earlier posts before replying you would have also read that weve only been in class one week and that my plans were to befriend the girl, not "prejudge" her or whatever! geez so quick to judge. First of all, she isnt a nurse, so maybe the nurses you speak of are better at understanding english than my classmate. From the four days we have been in class together it is extremely apparent that she has a hard time understanding. Of course I am worried!! she obviously needs more help than she is getting and like someone else also said in an earlier post, it is our instructors responsibility to recognize that. Im sure she will make a great nurse but i think she needs some additional help, if you are going into healthcare i think it is important to speak english even if it is not your first language. I have no problem with native nurses, even ones who cant speak english well, I only have a problem if/when that language barrier becomes just that a barrier, a problem, a road block. NOw maybe you don't know a nurse that has ever had a problem with it but you cant tell me that there arent nurses out there who do! My point is if my fellow student cant understand my teacher when she says "text next thursday" how can she understand a patient when they say, "im having chest pain" or whatever they might say. I hope all the best for this girl and like I said in earlier posts ,"im sure shes a smart girl, i think that she just needs more help with her english and im afraid that she will be one of the ppl who 'slips through the cracks' " I would hate to see that happen, and I know that it does. LIke I also said in an earlier post I have no intention of making issues for her...and I did state that clearly...I just wanted to know what everyone thought of the issue, and i stated that clearly too.

Spoken English is often more difficult to grasp than written English. This is true mainly because of the difficulty of English grammar rules, the syntax of the speaker and varying context.

The same is true for most persons learning another language. You can often "read" it before you can "say" it.

Her spoken English will improve with practice. It sounds like she still has above average spoken skills for a non-native speaker in an immersion situation for only a short time. Her immersion in an English only classroom will drastically improve her spoken skills.

Notating in her native tongue is probably still an easier visual cue. When she studies, she probably grasps more of the info this way. It will also help her to become familiar with translatable words from both languages. The shear volume of nursing material is most likely the main reason she does this.

When you find yourself "thinking" in the other language, then you know you are well on your way.

I am sure your clinical instructors have already noted that they will have to help her with syntax errors that may be critical.

They watch nursing students like hawks don't they? I doubt you instructor will risk her license or the reputation of your collegeby letting any of you make any mistakes.

As difficult as it is to get into nursing school, and as many people as there are lined up to get in, I doubt a person could get away with not getting the required score on the TOEFL, especially if you school required it.

She will most likely always have an accent, but her verbal skills will be quite understandable even to a most distressed listener in a few months.

Agape

Just wanted to say that I loved the way you explained this...

Specializes in OB.
Thank you bellcollector,

those were my exact intentions, well said, obviously better than i could have put it, if some people would read the earlier posts before replying you would have also read that weve only been in class one week and that my plans were to befriend the girl, not "prejudge" her or whatever! geez so quick to judge. First of all, she isnt a nurse, so maybe the nurses you speak of are better at understanding english than my classmate. From the four days we have been in class together it is extremely apparent that she has a hard time understanding. Of course I am worried!! she obviously needs more help than she is getting and like someone else also said in an earlier post, it is our instructors responsibility to recognize that. Im sure she will make a great nurse but i think she needs some additional help, if you are going into healthcare i think it is important to speak english even if it is not your first language. I have no problem with native nurses, even ones who cant speak english well, I only have a problem if/when that language barrier becomes just that a barrier, a problem, a road block. NOw maybe you don't know a nurse that has ever had a problem with it but you cant tell me that there arent nurses out there who do! My point is if my fellow student cant understand my teacher when she says "text next thursday" how can she understand a patient when they say, "im having chest pain" or whatever they might say. I hope all the best for this girl and like I said in earlier posts ,"im sure shes a smart girl, i think that she just needs more help with her english and im afraid that she will be one of the ppl who 'slips through the cracks' " I would hate to see that happen, and I know that it does. LIke I also said in an earlier post I have no intention of making issues for her...and I did state that clearly...I just wanted to know what everyone thought of the issue, and i stated that clearly too.

Many things get misunderstood through posting because you don't hear the person's tone of voice, you don't see their facial expressions or gestures. But it is clear that when you refer to "some people", that some people really means me. I already apologized to you. I did not intentionally try to offend you. If you don't want to take my apology to heart, then don't. But please don't single me out and personally attack me when I was just answering your original question... "What do you think???" I posted what I thought and maybe you just misunderstood what I was really trying to say. It is too early to tell whether this classmate of yours will ultimately and fully grasp the English language as others have posted... perhaps she may slip through the cracks and become one of those unsafe nurses. Or there is a possibilty she may become one of those wonderful nurses I keep posting about. I even gave you a possible solution since you are worried for her. But I guess you didn't really want to hear all that. And FYI, I did read all of your posts... I just don't think you read all of mine.

JMO, but I would prefer a nurse who could understand me.

I would be uncomfortable if I were being taken care of by a nurse who could not communicate effectively in English.

Specializes in pediatrics.
Hi all,

I came across a situation the other day and was wondering if anyone else might have an opinion on this subject.

I am in nusing school and one of my classmates is from Korea. Now being a minority myself (im Japaneese) I am not trying to sound predjudiced...but she is a transfer student from Korea and has not been in the US very long (that is what she told the class). Her english is not very good and she has a very hard time understanding the instructor, ie. she said "I not speak english well can you go slow or repeat things?" i say that as a direct qoute. I am wondering do any of you kind of have a problem with her going into nursing? I mean its great what she is doing but if she cant communicate efficiently with her patients do you think that compromises her patients well being, ie do you think she could misunderstand or not understand and make a mistake?

what do you guys think, i was kind of bothered by it, i thought to myself if she cant even understand our teacher that well then will she be able to understand and fully comprehend what the patients are saying?

My point of view is from a somewhat different perspective. The language skills are obviously a hendrance when it comes to lecture material and I can imagine the difficulty she and the class have with communicating. However, what happens when she is independently practicing as a nurse. I work in a area with lot of nurses from India, Nigeria, and occasionally China. Most of the time I understand the English of most foreign-born nurses fairly well. I take the time to listen carefully and attentively. This is not an isssue for me, but patient families are not nearly as patient and become frustrated easily. In all my years, I have only worked with one nurse who had such a difficult time communicating that I would literally not explain certain things to her because I knew it would take to long. I would literally just do it myself. On some level, I can imagine that patients are doing the same thing just hoping they can get their issues resolved when the next shift arrives. I think in time her english will improve.

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