Good languages to know

if you know spanish, that will be of great help..that is number one.... another important language is chinese, which is very different and there is a huge chinese population who do not speak/understand english.

Hmmm.... I started learning some Spanish although I haven't made much progress. I've also started Russian. But Chinese is a little too much for me I think.

Spanish, Mandarin, Yiddish/Hebrew, and somewhat less common, Russian. Tagalog and Creole(Haiti)/French is good for listening to many of your coworkers but somewhat much less common in patients.

The House officers/MDs frequently know Yiddish/Hebrew and Mandarin.

What is useful and easier to learn is get to know the cultural dynamics of the local nationalities. Remembering that Asian patients frequently consider that cold is harmful, and may not take ice water (but may be too polite to tell you - leading to poor fluid intake) is helpful. Knowing the specifics of kosher law is very helpful when dealing with Orthodox Jews. For example, most jello is a big no no - the client may not use call buttons/bed controls during Sabbath - do not take the Sabbath elevator on Jewish holidays or the Sabbath, as it stops on every floor, and it will take forever to get anywhere - kosher meals have to be heated while packaged/covered as the microwave is not kosher.

The House officers/MDs frequently know Yiddish/Hebrew and Mandarin.

What is useful and easier to learn is get to know the cultural dynamics of the local nationalities. Remembering that Asian patients frequently consider that cold is harmful, and may not take ice water (but may be too polite to tell you - leading to poor fluid intake) is helpful. Knowing the specifics of kosher law is very helpful when dealing with Orthodox Jews. For example, most jello is a big no no - the client may not use call buttons/bed controls during Sabbath - do not take the Sabbath elevator on Jewish holidays or the Sabbath, as it stops on every floor, and it will take forever to get anywhere - kosher meals have to be heated while packaged/covered as the microwave is not kosher.

Yeah, that part's already taken care of. :)