ESL student and Family

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Specializes in NCSN.

I have a little kindergartner who had been sick all week with cold like symptoms (productive cough, achy, runny nose). Two days ago the cough was bad enough where I wanted to send him home. Parents speak English but I am unsure of their comprehension because when I asked for him to get picked up, they said yes, but didn't come until dismissal.

Today he is back with a low fever, so I called for him to go home and again the father said yes, but an hour has passed. I called the mother who didn't seem to understand that he had to go home. She kept saying yes and then would ask me to put him to sleep.

Also LO is non verbal, so I can't have him play translator.

Any advice on what I can do? I have a feeling that I have a sick buddy for the day.

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Specializes in Cardiology, School Nursing, General.

Do you have anyone in staff that can speak their language? When I have to deal with this, I either ask the student to translate for me or if it's spanish I do it myself (I'm bilingual), but you can ask someone on staff if they speak the language.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

We use an interpreter telephone line or ask our Spanish or EL teachers to translate. We used to have a Spanish interpreter employed by our district for just this purpose but we don't any more.

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Do they have smart phones that you can send a message to for them to translate with google translate or something similar?

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Specializes in NCSN.

No one on staff. I can try an email using google translate, he doesn't have a smart phone to text with.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

How long has the child been enrolled in your school?

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

ESL in my mind = End Stage Life, thankfully not the case here.

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As a last resort only, lacking anyone at all to translate, and no translating services in the district (surely there's something or someone somewhere- who does the ESL teaching?) I would write a VERY simple note in google translate using very simple sentences and send it home with the student, after monitoring him in clinic. I'd also translate it in google translate back and forth 4 or 5 times to make sure it still makes sense in English.

Hope you can find a way to cross this language barrier!

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Specializes in NCSN.

Update: Email using google translate worked! Dad came!

Our districts ESL program is super small (like 2 teachers who only come in after school hours three times a week), but that's because we don't have a large population needing those services.

The student has been enrolled since the fall, but this earlier week was his first time visiting the nurse.

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This is why I love this group! Our ESL teacher isn't on site everyday and I never would have thought of Google to translate.

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Specializes in School nursing.

Have you considered making a Spanish/other language "cheat sheet" for yourself? Maybe an index card with a few basic phrases like "you child has a fever and needs to be picked up" etc?

I have access to fellow teachers/staff who speak Spanish/Haitian Creole (too most common needs for me) and am super lucky that the other nurse we hired in my district is bi-lingual, but I keep my cheat-sheet handy just in case. My American accent, as I call it, can butcher it a bit, but it does work in a pinch!

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Specializes in School Nurse.
This is why I love this group! Our ESL teacher isn't on site everyday and I never would have thought of Google to translate.

There is an app for that. Just a warning though, I have been told that it is not always accurate.

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