How Helpful is Being Bilingual?

[G to The P]

Hey Everyone, Just wondering how helpful it would be if you were fluent in lets say, Spanish? Is that a major plus when looking for a job?

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Hey, if we didn't have the translator phones, I'd give it my best shot. But we do, so NO WAY. Suppose I dig my little medical Spanish book out of my pocket and screw up? Or suppose I don't screw up but the speakers do? Am I gonna remember how the communication went down in detail years from now? Heck no. And with Spanish so idiomatic, and speakers from all over the world? For me it would be a hobby, and I don't take my hobbies to work, and especially I don't try them out on patients. I won't have that on my conscience. The hospital provides expert medical translator phones. That's the state of the communications art. My patients don't deserve less.

A great post! That should definitely a consideration for non-native speakers when they attempt to serve as interpreters. When you're dealing with information of critical importance, that isn't the time to be trying out your new-found language.

With that said, communication barriers can even arise between two fluent speakers of the same language, as we saw recently on our unit when a woman from a very rural Central American area was asking for more bottles for her breast milk. She was using an obscure word for bottle and none of the several people who talked to her (both native and non-native speakers) could figure out what the heck she was saying.

[CooL B8B]

Since the migration of Filipinos in Australia is on the rise, language barrier sometimes become a problem. Being able to speak in another language such as tagalog provided assistance to patients to translate and confirm whether vital information have been understood or not.

[KellNY, RN]

The translator phone is great, yes, but it's not realistic to use all the time. If you are bilingual enough to be able to ask the pt simple things and comprehend the answers, then that can make both your lives easier.

Some examples where translator phone wouldn't be necessary:

-Pt is asking if she can have some apple juice or a straw for her milk

-Pt would like the heat lowered in the room, or the door left open

-Pt asking when dinner will arrive

-Pt would like to know where her visiting father can use the bathroom

-Pt asking if her young daughter can visit her

Obviously it wouldn't be a good idea to just take a course or two and then try translating for consents and discharges, or answering medical questions, discussing risks, etc. But in general, yes, being at least partially bilingual is VERY helpful for all involved.