Diversity.. at what price?

Nurses Relations

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I am working in a large inner city facility. Corporate expounds the benefits of a diverse working culture.

I understand the benefits of a large pool of talent. There is every nationality on Earth represented in this medical center.

Recently, I took report from the recovery room. The nurse had such a thick accent , I had to ask her to spell some of the words she was saying. During the shift, I "worked" with a resident that was also very difficult to understand. He is also from a culture that expects women to walk 3 feet behind them. Needless to say.. the communication was difficult and time consuming.

At the end of the shift, I gave report to a nurse from another culture, that had never heard of the procedure the patient had undergone. Another language barrier ensued as I tried to explain the case.

I find it interesting that they can understand my mid-west American accent, but not vice-versa. The communication effort is time taking away from patient care.

I have seen a Chinese nurse, trying to describe a (emergent) patient's condition, over the phone to an Indian doctor, with a nursing assistant yelling in the background trying to interpret for them.

Is there a solution?:uhoh3:

Specializes in Critical care.

the examples you cite are exceptions to the rule.

Foreign Physicians are required to pass stringent tests that measure their ability to comprehend and communicate in English.

My advice to you is patience. learn to listen without bias. you may find that communication carries on without much hassle.

retire?

the examples you cite are exceptions to the rule.

Foreign Physicians are required to pass stringent tests that measure their ability to comprehend and communicate in English.

My advice to you is patience. learn to listen without bias. you may find that communication carries on without much hassle.

I can assure you this was not an exceptional day! It is the rule of thumb.

Maybe physicians need to pass tests., however nurses, assistants, ancillary staff do not.

I have the patience of a saint, that is why the communication in all of those scenarios was successful.

Things are working quite well on my end, I was asking for suggestions regarding the bigger picture.

Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

It's very possible to be fluent in a language but very difficult to understand. So the informations about English proficiency and communication tests aren't really relavent. On paper, someone might read and write in English just fine. But they may speak with a heavy accent. Even though they are saying the right words, it can be very hard to understand, especially over the phone. I, too, have had to ask people to repeat things or slow down their speech. English is a second language for many of these people, and if English was learned later in life or rarely used, it can be almost impossible to lose the accent during speech. Think about how difficult it must be for people in other countries to listen to Americans speak another language with out accents.

However, having staff from different languages and cultures is very beneficial. If there are patients who speak the same language, the staff member can help translate. The staff member can relate to patients of the same culture in ways that other staff cannot. I've never had anyone get upset with me for not understanding them as long as I politely ask for clarification. So even thought it may be more work for me, I'd rather have a diverse workplace.

We have evolved into a world...or at least a nation...of political correctness. Even though it hurts the very people we are paid to help (the patient and the potential errors that result) it will never be OK to admit it doesn't work. There was another recent thread on the same topic.

Would it be OK to admit it doesn't work if a communication breakdown led to the demise of your loved one?

Specializes in SNF, 2 year s hospital.

I will admit it's hard at times to deal with the different accents. For me what I've found is if Im giving report or receiving report I try to make sure that it's not rushed. The extra time could help. I couldnt even imagine how it feels to have english as a second language then dealing with medical language. This issue will not go away. Patience would be a great start.

Just my opinion :o

Talk about communication breakdown: there is a redneck, a frenchman, and a deaf guy running a department in my lab. ALL HIGHLY EDUCATED AND COMPETENT! But you can't understand a word they are saying. They go at it HOURLY like cats and dogs! You would think a fight was breaking out at the way they scream at each other.

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I am working in a large inner city facility. Corporate expounds the benefits of a diverse working culture.

I understand the benefits of a large pool of talent. There is every nationality on Earth represented in this medical center.

Recently, I took report from the recovery room. The nurse had such a thick accent , I had to ask her to spell some of the words she was saying. During the shift, I "worked" with a resident that was also very difficult to understand. He is also from a culture that expects women to walk 3 feet behind them. Needless to say.. the communication was difficult and time consuming.

At the end of the shift, I gave report to a nurse from another culture, that had never heard of the procedure the patient had undergone. Another language barrier ensued as I tried to explain the case.

I find it interesting that they can understand my mid-west American accent, but not vice-versa. The communication effort is time taking away from patient care.

I have seen a Chinese nurse, trying to describe a (emergent) patient's condition, over the phone to an Indian doctor, with a nursing assistant yelling in the background trying to interpret for them.

Is there a solution?:uhoh3:

I ask this with all seriousness...what is your solution to the problem? Do individuals have to pass a very subjective "clear speech" test before they can get a license? Should nurses be able to refuse a patient because they have PCP who is difficulty to understand because they have a thick accent? I really didn't ask these questions to be a smart a**. I don't agree with the hiring of individuals only to create a more diverse workplace; however, I don't think it is right to deny a qualified applicant because they have a thick accent.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

Would it be any different if your co-workers had very strong New England, Southern, or Hawaiian accents? If you can't understand each other, you can't understand each other.

Talk about communication breakdown: there is a redneck, a frenchman, and a deaf guy running a department in my lab. ALL HIGHLY EDUCATED AND COMPETENT! But you can't understand a word they are saying. They go at it HOURLY like cats and dogs! You would think a fight was breaking out at the way they scream at each other.

When I first read your comment...I was waiting for the punchline.:D

Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
Would it be OK to admit it doesn't work if a communication breakdown led to the demise of your loved one?

Just to be clear, I am not disagreeing with you. In my "unpolitical correctness", if the majority of those a healthcare professionals works with and/or patients can not understand the employee then they do not belong in that setting. Heck I get irritated when I call my cell phone providers help line and can't understand the person - and that is not putting my life at risk.

Would it be any different if your co-workers had very strong New England, Southern, or Hawaiian accents? If you can't understand each other, you can't understand each other.

Native English speakers are able to lose a regional accent if they only try; foreigners, however, who learned English after a certain age (usually age 10), are never able to completely lose their foreign accent; the older they were when they learned English, the stronger their accent tends to be. No speech therapy can help someone totally lose their foreign accent (it this were possible, don't you think Arnold would have lost his long ago?)

That said, maybe nurses with extemely heavy accents shouldn't work in areas where clear oral communication is important.

DeLana

Specializes in Cardiology.

I understand that speaking with people heavy and thick accents can sometimes be time consuming and somewhat irritating but as a supervisor would so helpfully remind me from time to time: suck it up and listen harder. The only way to resolve this problem would be to stop hiring people with thick accents. This in and of itself would be detrimental to patient care because this would exclude some highly intelligent candidates that may be able to best help your patient with new ideas and research. Also, as an other person pointed out these people can also be a great asset as translators.

Another thought however is to possibly spend more time talking to the people you are having trouble communicating with. In my experience, you begin to learn a persons inflections and meanings and the accent becomes less prevalent. Also by speaking you and other native English speakers more often it may help them to learn and understand us better as well.

There will honestly never be a true solution to this especially as sneeze continues to become more diversified. It would behoove all of us to just take the time to listen and well all be better for it

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