Trouble c accents at work?

Nurses General Nursing

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I have a really hard time with language accents be it either foreign or regional dialects. I had an altercation with a house supervisor the other day who accused me of not listening when I did not understand her and asked if she could repeat what she said. When I explained I have a hard time with accents she became very offended and further accused me saying "you just do not listen and I do not have an accent!" Well, she DOES have an accent and a strong one and I barely understand half of what she says. This supervisor continued to berrate me accusing me of not listening and I literally had to walk away from her because she was being so innappropriate. Most of the NAR's also have a strong accent and I have a hard time understanding them. This is starting to feel like a problem. I think the supervisor took it as a racial issue and this I do not understand - I had the same problem when in Ireland last year and again when in New Orleans several years ago. Anyone have any input to share?

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

Just like in the US, foreign born nurses from the same country, but different areas, have differing degrees of accents, speeds of talking, and degrees of understandability.

I work w/many Filipino nurses (they're in the majority in my unit), some are very easy to understand, others are nearly impossible. Length of time in this country doesn't seem to make a difference. In theory, they all speak Tagalog, but if they come from Ilo-Ilo or Mindanao or ??, their English is totally different from a nurse who came from Manila or other areas of Luzon.

I think it would be a great idea if hospitals would offer (and encourage) accent reduction via Speech Therapy. It should focus on "phonemic awareness". And a little self-awareness that one HAS an accent would make a big difference. If I had to go work in China, I'd better believe I've got an accent!!

I know a nurse who took an accent reduction class. She sounds like she grew up here.

Specializes in ER/Trauma.

I speak English - not American :p Plus, I can imitate Fez or Apu easy as pie - always breaks tension ;)

But I have to be careful about what words I use. Example - I have to remember to ask for an "eraser", not a "rubber" :imbar

cheers,

I think different accents are kind of cool. I think if someone gets upset when told they have an accent, they're being a bit oversensitive. But, I guess to them it sounds like they don't have the one "acceptable" way of speaking. Accents are relative. To them, you have an accent.

I usually just say, "I'm sorry - I didn't understand what you said," or ask them to repeat what they said. In our business, proper communication is imperative, so ask them to repeat themselves until you understand. If they get mad about that, then it's their problem. All in all, people just need to chill and help each other out.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I moved three hours (by a car drive) north of where I grew up. People there would say, "Wow, you really have a southern accent. You talk so slow!" then would go home every other weekend or so (I was in grad school) and at home people would say, "You are talking so fast!" My accent would change! Once I got back to work from being at home, the people at work would tease me saying they knew I had gone home to get "charged up!"

I worked in a big children's hospital and often we would get people from my home area since we were the closest big children's hospital. I would always get assigned to theme because, "You can understand those people better than we can!"

I've lost a lot of my origional accent and it is more neutral now, but when I get tired, excited, or angry, watch out!

Anyway, EVERY person has an accent, so I don't see the big deal about stating as such. Where I live (tri-state area) you can almost guess the COUNTY and state of where someone is from by how they talk. Big deal.

Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

Great topic to discuss...I think anyone who has struggled with a foreign language can attest to difficulties expressing oneself in foreign tongue...However, those professionals who can't speak clear English should not get so angry when we ask for clarification or could you express that thought another way...I don't know how many times I get a look of "your stupid" when all I did is not get a clear understanding of what the nurse was talking about.

I learned some Spanish but have a heavy American accent.

The sound when a 'g' sounds like an 'h' is impossible for me.

I actually write the words "oxígeno" and "alergia".

Patients are so appreciative they than me when I apologise for my "acento".

Specializes in L&D, Antepartum.

I am originally from NJ, born and raised. I moved to So CA when I got married at 19. This was at the time of Mike Myers skit "coffee talk" on SNL. I had SO many people here asking me to say "coffee talk" or other sayings from the show. I was so sick of people asking me to say things because of my accent that I purposefully (sp?) started speaking the way they do here in CA. I have lost my accent now after almost 13 years in CA. But, if I get angry or nervous...watch out! The Jerseygirl comes out in full force. I actually found myself correcting my words when on the phone with HR the other day because I was nervous and the NJ was coming through. LOL! When I speak with my friends back home on the phone, my DH always can tell because certain words start sounding like I used to speak.

Back to when I first came out here...it wasn't that I was offended, I was just tired of people asking me to say certain words because they thought it was funny. It was funny but it got old. Although, there was one man who said my accent sounded "uneducated". BAH on him!

- N

i find that the longer you are around a certain accent the easier it is to understand, even if it is a different person talking...we had an indian md and he was SO hard to understand..after while we could understand everything and tell the patients what is was that he said

if they don't understand me the first time i try and enunciate as clearly as i can...some yankees think that they are SO FUNNY when they mock a southern accent,,

previous post was right when mentioning that a lot of people from other parts of the country think that they are deemed to be the superior when they hear a southern drawl...they also make a deduction for being short

they can't understand why nobody agrees with them

I am so glad I've worked in the telecommunications field for over 13 years and I've heard just about every accent there is. I think this will help me alot once I become a nurse in how to communicate with foreign patients/co-workers as well as understanding them.

I speak English - not American :p Plus, I can imitate Fez or Apu easy as pie - always breaks tension ;)

But I have to be careful about what words I use. Example - I have to remember to ask for an "eraser", not a "rubber" :imbar

cheers,

I swear Roy,

You must be my long lost cousin! :lol2:

I'll fake a good Jamaican accent or a Bristish Indian even though I'm Bahamian. Most folks don't know Bahamian from Jamaican from West Indian and if I hear "Hey Mon" one more time I'll will scream!!!!

Don't get me started on my use of "The Queen's English"... And I'll ask for a rubber or some biscuits or Weetabix quick and in a hurry :rotfl:

What's even funnier is that I lived in Texas so imagine an island sounding British/Bahamian/ Texas/ Indian twang when I'm trying to be a smarty-arty!!!

Buwhaaaa!!!

I worked as a phone customer service agent so I got calls from all over. I can understand just about everybody as long as they talk loud enough. (The mumblers get me more than accents...grrr)

I bet you "cousins" push a trolley down the hallway too.

One of the most charming accents I've heard is an Irish priest at a hospital where I work registry sometimes speaking fluent Spanish with his Irish brogue.

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