Any advice for a young student..

Nurses Disabilities

Published

This may not be a disibility, but I suffer from rhoctacism which is when you have a hard time pronouncing the letter R some things I say sound okay, but when I say certain words like the "world" or "nurse" (people thing I'm saying news??) it comes out funky and people have no idea what I'm saying. I'm usually okay and I make due. As a nursing student I see how much communication is done with patients, family's and co workers. I'm worried that I won't be able to communicate on the job. I have jobs working with the public, but I know that working as a nurse will be very different. If anyone has any words of encouragement or advice on what to do I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you in advance😊

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm just throwing this out there as something I would do if I was in your shoes...this may not be the way everyone would handle this, but I'm a very upfront person by nature, so this is just what I would do -

I'd state upfront before the start of any conversation that I had a problem pronouncing the letter R in some words, so if there were any words that they didn't understand, please feel free to ask. Also, I would carry a little notebook so I could write the word down if it was proving to be a real confusion maker! Just be really pragmatic and open about it, without any hint of embarrassment. I bet you 99% of people will be cool about it. I know I would be if you were my nurse and you told me that!

Out of interest - what causes the problem?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you so much! I'm not really sure what causes the problem. I was told by my dad that I have a "fat tounge" which is what my grandpa told him (my grandfather also had this problem) but after doing some research I believe it was just a speech problem that the schools didn't pick up on, it's usually something that kids grow out of and I didn't, I've been doing exercises to try and correct the problem or at least perfect words I find the most issue with people understanding but it's a process!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I asked because I have a friend who had a similar problem. She was in her 20's before she plucked u the courage to go to her doctor, she thought he'd laugh at her. Turns out she had what's called ankyloglossia - it's where the frenulum (the membrane that connects the tongue to the mouth) was really tight and too short, so she was unable to extend her tongue fully to make some pronunciations. She had a simple Op done - they cut the membrane or something - and she can speak perfectly fine now!

Anyway - might be worth mentioning to your Doc??

Or, it could just be who you are, in which case - embrace it as one of your many attributes!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment