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?

[LouisVRN, RN]

I am an no way saying that my care is any less efficient or sensitive to these patients, I try to make concessions to be sensitive to everyone's needs. And if they are visiting I have ABSOLUTELY no problem with them not speaking English, I helped an Indian couple with their airline when they needed their flight changed because the representative could not understand their limited English. But when they reside in this country it bothers me. Interpreters are not trained in assessment, I can never be 100% confident they are conveying everything exactly as the patient intended. Sometimes the patient will speak for a full minute and I will get a one sentence interpretation. I know the interpreters are just doing their job but they cant know everything I will find useful. I took 6 years of Spanish in high school and college and sometimes its still not enough to be able to communicate effectively with patients.

[nursinger]

I find it even more irking when coworkers have been in this country for say 25 years or more and still have diifficulty understanding them, but that's a whole 'nuther vent.

[leslie :-D]

i am sitting here, wondering why it bothers me and i guess it comes down to it being disrespectful.

these folks have no problem coming to live in our country, reaping any/all benefits and opportunites, but will not learn our language.

it insults me.

leslie

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

am sitting here, wondering why it bothers me and i guess it comes down to it being disrespectful.

these folks have no problem coming to live in our country, reaping any/all benefits and opportunites, but will not learn our language.

Yes. This is it. Esp in Canada, where health care is provided for them.

We get a lot of non-English speaking pts. Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Farsi, Tagalog, Punjabi and German are our most common. I can't learn all those languages! And the hospital certainly does not have the money for interpreters.

[rn/writer, RN]

There is a fine line between reaching out to those who don't speak the local language (a good thing) and enabling people who live here to avoid learning the local language (a harmful thing). I think we crossed that line a while back, and now we've come to a point where the amount of accommodation being relied upon is excessive. It's detrimental to everyone, and the double standard that says English speakers have to make all the allowances everywhere, whether here or abroad, is insane. I can't imagine going to Mexico or India or Somalia or Germany and expecting everyone else to provide me with interpreters and Language Lines and all of the other services we are mandated to come up with. That some of them do so voluntarily is gracious, but I wonder how well they would respond to demands.

We can't "draw the line" in the healthcare setting. That would be punitive and impractical. But we really need to make it clear elsewhere that speaking English is important and necessary. To have to keep stretching and stretching and stretching is punitive to the rest of us (the cost in money, effort, miscommunication, etc. is astronomical) and it gives the message that there really is no need to learn the language. After all, why would people attempt such a challenging task (and I do admit that it's challenging) when we continually say, "Push two for Spanish."

I don't want to hear any ridiculousness about this being racist. It's behaviorist, if anything. I have a problem with any individual who wants the citizens of this country to do all of the accommodating.

[SharonH, RN]

Nope, it doesn't bother me one bit.

[EmmyBee]

I'm sure this is a bit of a touchy subject for some, but I have to agree with the OP. I actually live in Miami, and most of the times it seems English is the second language. I am half hispanic, but my father never spoke it in the home, because my mother didn't speak it. So my sisters and I never learned it. I moved away when I was 19, and came back when I got out of the military.

Of course, I have no problem with other cultures living here, as my family is from Central America. But what I do find bothersome, is when people look at me like I have some nerve not speaking spanish. I've even had a patient say to me, "What do you mean you don't speak spanish? Don't you know this is Miami?" Another time a patient didn't believe me that I didn't understand her, and while I was trying to find another nurse to help translate, she went to the charge nurse to complain. She told her that she knew I spoke Spanish, I just didn't want to help her.

With that being said, I realize spanish is the norm here. So in reality I have to be the one to learn the language. I do understand enough to get by. And while in school, I'm working hospice. So I am always able to carry a clipboard with some basic translations, and have access to a translation website on my Blackberry. I'm also planning on getting a tutor once I finish school in December, because many of the job listings want you to be bilingual. But yeah, sometimes I feel a bit resentful about the whole thing...not so much towards those who don't speak English, but towards the ones who look at me like I have a problem for speaking it.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

i am sitting here, wondering why it bothers me and i guess it comes down to it being disrespectful.

these folks have no problem coming to live in our country, reaping any/all benefits and opportunites, but will not learn our language.

it insults me.

leslie

Well, I'm sitting here wondering why it doesn't bother me, and I think I get it now.

I'm from an area that is predominately natural born citizens who are several generation Americans, yet English is not the only language spoken, or even the most comfortable language for people to speak.

Where?

PA Dutch Country, of course. The Amish, and a lot of Old Order Mennonites speak Pennsylvania Dutch as often as possible, but use High German for worship and English for business interactions. Yes, they speak English...but depending on how enmeshed in the "English world" they are, their English may NOT be up to snuff for answering admission questions or receiving education related to a new diagnosis. Now, granted, the Amish aren't exactly frequent fliers at hospitals, but they go there if needed. And around here it isn't a big deal. Even those without Swiss/German ancestry know smatterings of German and PA Dutch. I know it's different, because they aren't refusing to learn English, they're just choosing to live in the English speaking world without being a part of it and therefore preferring not to speak English.

So that's my background concerning this subject.

[Orange Tree]

People who don't speak English don't bother me at all. I used to be one of "those" people who were very agressive towards non-English speakers ...until I lived in a foreign country myself! People seem to have very different attitudes about foreign languages in other parts of the world, and I guess it rubbed off on me a bit. Now I see the "English-only" ranters as "ugly Americans". :chair:

Communication can be frustrating when someone doesn't speak the same language I do, but it's also frustrating when someone is confused, demented, withdrawn, psychotic, slow, inaccurate, etc.

[leslie :-D]

People who don't speak English don't bother me at all. I used to be one of "those" people who were very agressive towards non-English speakers ...until I lived in a foreign country myself! People seem to have very different attitudes about foreign languages in other parts of the world, and I guess it rubbed off on me a bit. Now I see the "English-only" ranters as "ugly Americans". :chair:

Communication can be frustrating when someone doesn't speak the same language I do, but it's also frustrating when someone is confused, demented, withdrawn, psychotic, slow, inaccurate, etc.

i don't get frustrated w/those who are confused, demented, etc.

i suppose it's r/t me being able to understand that they're confused, demented, etc.

but when language is completely non-intelligible, you haven't a clue as to the why, what, who, when, where.

curious, this country you lived in, was english enabled as spanish is here in this country?

was all communication (written and spoken) in english as well as the native tongue?

iow, did this country cater to americans as we do for spanish?

finally, it's unfortunate you see us as "ugly americans".

*shrug*

diversity isn't only ethnic in nature...

it takes all kinds.

leslie

[systoly]

Somebody said this is a delicate subject. It is, but seemingly only for US born English speaking citizens who will be accused of discrimination at the drop of a hat. I wasn't born in the US, English is my second language, I'm not a citizen and I know what it's like to come to this country on my own with poor English skills. If your new to this country or you have a hard time with English it's ok, I'll help you in any way I can, but if you plain just don't feel like trying to learn English you can speak to me in my native language or you can kiss my derriere, because I'm not going to jump through hoops for you. Part of the reason why you came to this country is because of freedom of choice. If you choose not to try to learn English, that's your decision, but when you're not prepared to accept the consequences and refuse accountability you become a burden to the system and society. There are way too many folks who want to reap all the benefits this country has to offer without ever contributing an ounce.

To Orange Tree:

I'm not American

I'm just ugly

[manncer]

I've got an iPod touch and an iPad-There are some apps that will not only translate what you want to say, but actually say the phrase on the device. This doesn't help you understand what they are saying to you easily, but you can tell them to speak simply and it may help. It will be comforting that you are trying to understand them. Polyglotism is here to stay as frustrating as it is.