I hate that everyone knows I speak Spanish !

[LilimoonRN]

Okay so I'm super frustrated lately, I work on a med/surg floor and quite frequently we have spanish only speaking patients. All my coworkers know that I along with a few other nurses are bilingual. I love my coworkers but it's so annoying that I'm constantly being pulled away to go translate for them. At my hospital we don't get paid more for this. Yes I want what's best for the patients and I do think I'm a team player and am always willing to help out but it is so time consuming for me and I end up behind trying to catch up. I have a hard time saying no because I know how much my coworkers hate using our translation service the hospital provides. The other day I worked my but off to finish all my charting and med pass on time only to find out I'd be giving up 2 of my patients because another nurse didn't "think it was safe for her to care for Spanish only patients" her charting or med passes weren't done of course... if the hospital provided extra pay for this I think I wouldn't be upset but I just don't know how to approach my boss about this. I don't want to seem like I'm not willing to help and it might be a bad idea???! I also hate that I get pulled by surgeons constantly to translate for them because they hate using our language translation service ... sometimes they even pull me from my floor to the OR floor to translate for consent !! Argh next time I'm just going to say no because I'm over it, I'm doing double work and charting. Working was easier when no one knew I spoke Spanish. Next time if I move to a different hospital I'm not letting my coworkers know! End of my rant ������������������

[klone, MSN, RN]

At my facility it is completely verboten to use a non-certified person/staff member as a medical translator. Although I'm not entirely sure it might actually be a law in my state. Either way it is a fire-able offense as it is considered not in the patient's best interest and could be construed as an abuse of power as a staff member is not a "neutral" party.

It's a CMS/Joint Commission thing. Yes, you can get cited.

Also, a personal pet peeve, directed at no one in particular: when it's verbal language, it's interpreting. When it's written documents, it's translating.

[quazar]

It's a CMS/Joint Commission thing. Yes, you can get cited.

Also, a personal pet peeve, directed at no one in particular: when it's verbal language, it's interpreting. When it's written documents, it's translating.

I love language/linguistic nerds. I'll take that correction to heart, thank you.

[Sour Lemon]

I woke up thinking about this thread and something that happened to me frequently at my last job. I don't speak any languages other than English. I also worked with a very large percentage of foreign-born nurses.

While they obviously spoke some English, I often found myself being called to help with patients who were wordy, particular or just found their assigned nurse(s) difficult to understand. I've also hopped on the phone more than a few times to take orders that weren't being well-understood by foreign-born nurses. In some cases the doctor and nurse were both speaking English as a second language and couldn't understand each other. Even giving end of shift report sometimes took a bit longer because I found myself struggling to explaining what certain simple words or phrases meant.

I want extra pay, too. :)

[Docante]

Better if we can get people to learn English

[klone, MSN, RN]

Better if we can get people to learn English

Okay, but since that's not a realistic solution, and CMS requires that we speak to patients in the language THEY feel most comfortable, we need to come up with actual WORKABLE solutions. What you suggest is not realistic, workable, or in keeping with CMS requirements.

Nor is it culturally sensitive. Because even if people learn English, they have the right to receive information about their healthcare in the language they are most comfortable communicating in. So really, your xenophobic opinion is completely irrelevant.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

In our hospital you cannot translate if you aren't a "certified medical translator" through our system. Are you sure you aren't breaking policy by performing this service for your fellow nurses? This could be an area you can lean on and get your manager to back you up.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Okay, but since that's not a realistic solution, and CMS requires that we speak to patients in the language THEY feel most comfortable, we need to come up with actual WORKABLE solutions. What you suggest is not realistic, workable, or in keeping with CMS requirements.

Nor is it culturally sensitive. Because even if people learn English, they have the right to receive information about their healthcare in the language they are most comfortable communicating in. So really, your xenophobic opinion is completely irrelevant.

THIS. I am third generation American. Only two generations ago my family spoke primarily German and only one generation ago it was still spoke in the home. Our political opinions have NO PLACE at the bedside.

[heron, ASN, RN]

I still think the most efficient solution is for facilities to pay for bi or multilingual staff to be certified and then pay differential to those willing to act as interpreters. Obviously, assignments would be modified to reflect the real workload.

In my setting - ltc specializing in residents with dementia and mental illness - telephone interpreters are a total non sequitur. Most, if not all, of the residents lack the mental capacity to cooperate.

Also, I often need the language help negotiating basic bedside care, not complex informed consent issues. It's ludicrous and a waste of money to use a telephonic interpreter to communicate during incontinent care (for instance) or convince a delusional and paranoid resident that it's time for a shower.

[Ben_Dover]

I had a co-worker named Josefina and people would always asked her to assist with spanish translation. Little did they know, she's from the Philippines and they're like, "really?!"

[Sour Lemon]

I had a co-worker named Josefina and people would always asked her to assist with spanish translation. Little did they know, she's from the Philippines and they're like, "really?!"

A lot of Filipino nurses do speak Spanish, though ...at least the ones I work with.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Better if we can get people to learn English

this is the best possibility, but as pointed out, not a short term solution. I think those that condemned this post are out of line.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I still think the most efficient solution is for facilities to pay for bi or multilingual staff to be certified and then pay differential to those willing to act as interpreters. Obviously, assignments would be modified to reflect the real workload.

In my setting - ltc specializing in residents with dementia and mental illness - telephone interpreters are a total non sequitur. Most, if not all, of the residents lack the mental capacity to cooperate.

Also, I often need the language help negotiating basic bedside care, not complex informed consent issues. It's ludicrous and a waste of money to use a telephonic interpreter to communicate during incontinent care (for instance) or convince a delusional and paranoid resident that it's time for a shower.

This is the type of stuff corporate overlords who have never done direct patient care don't understand. Our policy specifically states that in person interpretors should be used for things like consents. Consent is actually doable over the phone. Trying to do bedside care with incontinent, confused, hard of hearing, or even just fatigued patients over the phone when you just want to tell them that this is their Tylenol for their headache or "you need to keep your oxygen in your nose" is ludicrous.