Demand More Diversity in NYC Hospitals

Merlyn · Feb 26, 2012

I'm graduating in may and was lucky enough to be given a verbal offer of employement by a local hospital in nyc. So it makes sense that I've been spending alot time there and at other hospitals in the city. What makes me upset is the fact that many hospitals in NY do not have SPANISH speaking nurses, Doctors or Secretaries!! I dont get it!! How can you be a nurse in NYC and not speak spanish? As a black man who grew up in bronx, I see NY as a multicultural paradise where employement should reflect the diversity of the community.
So I ask you all to demand more diversity in your hospitals here in the City! Its only going to make things better!

Sorry Sport, Life is not perfect, medicine is not perfect and hospitals are not perfect. When I found out that the hospital at which I worked did not have Spanish speakers, I learn Spanish. You are new in the game. You come out of those Ivy covered halls thinking life will be wonderful. it's not. You got to put up with a lot of bull in this business. If you want more Spanish speakers on your unit learn Spanish. I hate to be so crass but now you are in the real world.

RNFiona · Feb 26, 2012

WOW. How can you live in America and not speak English?

RNFiona · Feb 26, 2012

Guess what? I work in NYC and worked in a hospital with a large population of Russian and Chinese patients who did not speak english. I guess in addition to being required to learn Spanish...nurses should also be required to be fluent in Chinese and Russian. A competent capable nurse should not be denied employment just because she is not bilingual. That is ridiculous. What this particular institution did was hire interpreters. It worked out just fine. My current hospital has a large deaf population...I guess none of the nurses deserve to be there since not all of us know sign language.

DoGoodThenGo · Feb 26, 2012

I'm graduating in may and was lucky enough to be given a verbal offer of employement by a local hospital in nyc. So it makes sense that I've been spending alot time there and at other hospitals in the city. What makes me upset is the fact that many hospitals in NY do not have SPANISH speaking nurses, Doctors or Secretaries!! I dont get it!! How can you be a nurse in NYC and not speak spanish? As a black man who grew up in bronx, I see NY as a multicultural paradise where employement should reflect the diversity of the community.
So I ask you all to demand more diversity in your hospitals here in the City! Its only going to make things better!

By law NYS and NYC hospitals are required to provide translators for persons with limited ability to speak and or comprehend English. Some hospitals such as NYP have an entire department (IIRC) devoted to that service. In addition if one wishes there are post secondary programs where one can be certified in medical translation for various languages. Professional Certificate in Medical Interpreting | New York University - SCPS

Being as all that may to mandate hiring of nurses via race or ethinic backround is simply wrong. There exsist already vast amounts of federal, state and local laws regarding the hiring and or anti-discriminatory actions for various minority groups, we do not require yet another mandate.

Also for the record many "Spanish" or French, Chinese, or whomever nurses/healthcare workers that speak another language do *not* want it known to their employers or co-workers.

While it does seem like a good idea at the start being the nurse or whatever that can speak a certain language can lead to one becoming the instant "go to" person for not only one's own unit/floor but every department in the facility as well. So there you are trying to get your work done and you're being pulled into this patient's room, or paged to go down to the ER, OB/GYN or so forth to act as translator. Maybe you'll be lucky and rules and or your supervisors will deny permission to leave the floor, but if a doctor especially CofS or CofD makes a strong enough request.....

0402 · Feb 27, 2012

I work in an area with a large Spanish speaking population. I'm the only night nurse we have that speaks Spanish. I help when I can, which some nights is a lot and some nights, not at all. If I can do so, without detriment to my own patients, I am happy to help the pt be understood and have their concerns heard. I don't blame my co-workers for not being Hispanic (I am not either; Spanish is a 2nd language for me, though I am fairly fluent); I look at it as a way to help, when I can- just as I will be a 2nd set of hands to boost a pt or help clean a pt, when I can. I am also grateful for my tech that speaks Amharic and can help put a pt at ease (I don't use her for admissions, but for basic needs, it's nice that the pt can be understood (we do have the translator phone, but only one for the floor, and when asking something simple, like asking if they'd like some juice or help to the bathroom or if they have pain, it's nice to have someone there in person) or a fellow RN who speaks Krio and can help me with 2 unanswered questions from her admission. I don't hold others in contempt for not speaking those languages.

Merlyn · Feb 27, 2012

WOW. How can you live in America and not speak English?

There are large sections of cities and even some towns where English is not even a second language. I'm thinking of Miami, NYC, and on the Reservation in the Western States. Lakota, Navajo, and Comanche are spoken. So it is possible.