Published
Will anyone hear be taking a foreign language to prepare them for the diverse patients they will be encountering as a nurse? if so what language will you be taking or have already taken?
I took spanish for two reasons. Our community has many imigrants from hispanic background and I also enjoy the language. That being said, there is a move to getting ASL on college programs as a foreign language credit. I would be one of the first in line to take this if it happened as there are many hearing impaired people that use ASL in our area plus a school for the deaf close by.
I took five years of German, I loved it but it's been pretty useless. I would love to learn ASL and Spanish at some point-- I think it's important to be able to speak another language at least somewhat, considering the fact that in most other countries people often speak more than one language. When I went to Germany and Austria, everyone spoke English very well, and I felt like such a silly American when I couldn't speak German as well as they could speak English.
zacarias, ASN, RN
1,338 Posts
Asia,
I strongly recommend Spanish over Portuguese. You will use Spanish with countless patients (young and hold) and they will be grateful for you ability to speak with them. While some Spanish-speakers can understand some parts of Portuguese, it's not something to bet on especially if you get an old person who's confused; it will be too much for them to try to make out the Portuguese.
However, if you learn Spanish and happen to have a Portuguese-speaking patient, you will be probably be able to communicate enough to help them out.