Major Vent

[LouisVRN]

So this has lately been a pet peeve of mine at work, patients that live in this country and speak NO English. I can totally understand and sympathize with how scary it must be to be visiting get sick and be hospitalized in a country where you do not understand the language and what the people around you are trying to convey but when you LIVE here?!? Whenever I have visited other countries I have made an effort to learn the basics of their language to make them more at ease, after all I am in their country I don't think they should have to make special accommodations for me. But I am so tired of calling an interpreter to explain what I am doing 15 times during the shift, after I've already had them come up and explain in detail what would be happening and when throughout the night and clarifying any questions that the patient had. Do I need to learn more patience for my diverse patients or does this irk anyone else as well?

[GM2RN]

I'm sorry you are offended that I disagreed with you.

Good luck finding a place where no one thinks you may be wrong.

Never said I was offended, just that I'm done. LOL I love it when people put words into my mouth.

[Fribblet]

Never said I was offended, just that I'm done. LOL I love it when people put words into my mouth.

I'm sorry to disappoint you, as that was not at all what I did.

If you need me to "translate" the phrase, which you have misused and possibly misunderstood, I'll be happy to help.

[GM2RN]

I'm sorry to disappoint you, as that was not at all what I did.

If you need me to "translate" the phrase, which you have misused and possibly misunderstood, I'll be happy to help.

You have to care to be disappointed, and I don't care about your opinion on this topic at this point. Even if you fundamentally disagree with me, you still have refused to admit that you have attributed things to me that I never said, which are blatantly clear when you compare my posts to yours. So, as I said before, have it your way. It's no skin off my nose.

[bagladyrn, RN]

Compensated for translating??? Are you kidding??? That's right up there with Bristol Palin being a teenager's role model. (go ahead, delete it)

Actually I have been at a couple of hospitals in my travels at which staff (including ancillary staff) WERE compensated for translating. They received an additional amount per hour after passing a test done by a professional interpreter for that language specifically referencing medical terminology. They were then placed on a list available to the staff.

[DarkBluePhoenix]

Is is me or do immigrates get better accommodations than citizens...looks like thats the direction this country is taking

time to move!

[badphish]

1. My wife a US citizen. Born in puerto Rico. A us commonwealth. Like umm let's see DC

Does not speak fluent English so what. It's not the dominant language on the island. Guess what I learned spanish. Also be aware. Due to abuse issues she never finished grade school

So let's prejudge everyone that they gave the sane education as us and opportunity to learn a very difficult language english.

2nd. Learn a language. Us nurses are all very educated. Carry a phrasebook. Draw pictures. Point

Whatever

Really is this the thing that is crippling our healthcare system

Please

I've been to seven countries delivered medical care in all of them to natives. With a either a phrase book or gestures or pretty pictures

U can too

I'm absolutely certain that JC. Himself spoke only English. King James English. As a matter of fact

Maybe we all need to learn Chinese. Since they outnumber us.

Personally everyone after HS should do 2 years service overseas. Then get college a vocational job whatever

Believe your patients WANT to communicate with you

I'm out

This thread disgusts me

[nursel56]

People living in the United States who don't learn to speak English are harming themselves in the long run in ways that don't meet the eye at first, and that thread weaves itself through their entire experience here. It permeates everything. Suppose you have been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and you need to travel outside your immediate neighborhood, and you take a turn for the worse. You have no choice but to go to the local ER in a strange city without a high percentage of people who speak your first language. When they ask you why you are there you take a folded up paper written in English out of your wallet that says "yourname has stage 4 colon cancer etc" and wordlessly hand it to the nurse. Does it really matter at that point if America is a melting pot and English is too hard to learn and.. .? That is #%@$& terrifying. And it happened to my friend. People who want to frame it as a lack of cultural sensitivity and the weight of accomodation on those who speak the dominant language may feel good about themselves but for other than a short-term visitor it is a net negative.

I happily speak Spanish while I'm at work to people who don't speak English. I don't think of it as a political issue. Many of my co-workers actively refuse to learn another language as a political statement. It's frustrating and time-consuming to play charades and point at things, and I'm not patient enough to spend 10 minutes trying to convey something that should take 2 minutes.

Poor written language skills hold people back as well, but probably if you don't intend to climb the career ladder as far as your talents can take you it doesn't matter as much.