Is this discrimination?

[eacue10]

Hello haven't posted in a while. quick background before the meat. So I work at a fairly large health system, they currently own 95% market share so options here are not many. If you look at the pictures of the board of directors, they are all white. All my charge rn, the dept director, and her four clinical supervisors are all white. I happen to not be white, and I am bilingual. I have heard comments from physicians like: "they get off the plane and want us to fix all their problems". "That pt doesn't pass the smell test, hispanics are too emotional." The second comment was about my pt who came in with acute head pain worst of her life. History of Htn among other things and geriatric. I wanted to get her cleared for a stroke...the md never even came to the room. Waited and hour. Cat wouldn't take her stat cause it wasn't ordered stat. Well I gave report went home. Next day was told she ended up having a bleed. Now md won't even make eye contact with me. So I'm asked to translate all the time and now I'm told by triage and the charge and the clinical sups that I get certain PTs cause they only speak Spanish. My one year review is coming and I'm thinking of asking for a nice raise because speaking Spanish and translating are not in the job description...I checked. If they don't give it to me is it discrimination? Should I keep my minority mouth shut and just be happy I'm getting a paycheck? I was born in the USA. Technically I'm not a minority...right?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Me, either. Most of the hospitals around here do not pay any more for holding a BSN. They pay for you being a registered nurse; the actual degree doesn't matter.

This is most assuredly not the case in all workplaces. Many pay extra for that BSN. Check around.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

According to the Joint Commission, unless you are a certified medical translater, you should not be doing any translating. You can speak in a language you are fluent in when you are directly taking care of a patient, but you cannot use co-workers to translate between a patient and the provider even if Spanish is your native language.

Sounds crazy? Kinda...but, this is why. Certified Medical Translators have been trained in the ethics of medical translating. It is a word for word translation, not summaries, no opinions, no further explanations. It's word for word. This eliminates any miscommunications that can take place if a thought process was summarized.

It's not discrimination for them not to give you a raise, but it is a hostile work environment if slams against Hispanics are happening in your presence. Before you go to HR, the next time someone makes a comment like that...I don't care if it is the MD or not, say, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your comment about 'them' getting off the plane. Exactly which group of people are you referring to." Say it loud enough for others to hear and stay dead silent after you ask the question. Make the squirm.

Call....them....out.

Why should he wait for the next time? He can approach the prejudiced doctor right now. Not run to HR, but talk directly with the doctor. Calmly. Educate the doctor.

If wrong response from the doc, time to go to OP's boss and doctor's boss, then HR if no change noted from doctor.

Doctor seriously needs cultural sensitivity training. needs to be made aware of ethnic differences among different peoples and different individuals within every group.

Doctor is either ignorant or extremely prejudiced. He should be reported for malpractice, too. He didn't follow the established course for suspected CVA patients. He has seriously harmed the patient, on top of being a racist.

No need to wait.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Perhaps it's time to re-think that.

Actually, I couldn't care less.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

I am pretty pro immigration but yes, if you come to america you should learn english. Not sure why this offends you? People (with clear records) should be welcome in our country but again if you are coming here, feel free to keep as much of your previous culture as you want but to say people should not have to learn english pretty much shows us this entire post is probably malingering and I can now safely assume you go out of your way to look at comments made at work as "racist."

It benefits the person coming to america more than others to learn the native language since there is a plethora of data showing not knowing english leads to problems in many areas of life. Not saying it should be a law to learn it but somebody SHOULD learn it.

Saying to learn english racist? lol give me a break. If you do not get a raise it will be more likely due to attitude than skin color. But it is 2018 and playing the race card is now fashionable so whatevs.

Please re-read his original post. You don't seem to have understood much of what he said.

English is certainly the majority language of America, but it is not the native language. Review the history of America for better comprehension of the situation we how have in America.

[kakamegamama]

Well, it is expected when I live overseas in a primarily non-English speaking country that I learn the language of the majority people group. Why should it be different here in the U.S.?

The trouble is that it takes time to learn a new language. You don't just pick it up in 5 minutes.

How well I know that. My point is, if we live in a foreign country that does not speak our heart language, language of origin, then we need to learn the language of that country. Yes, it does take time. I spent a minimum of 8 hours a week for at least a year and a half learning, plus my study time and practicing using it. Then when I moved, I spent another minimum 4-6 hours a week with a tutor, and using/practicing it in the real world. Why should it be different for someone who has moved here to the States?

[Nunya, BSN]

My question is how much time are you spending translating? Is this taking away from time for your patients? A quick translation here and there is one thing but it sounds like you're doing more than that. Are you getting asked to translate while you're on break or lunch? That's not right. If you're confident in your translation skills then I would definitely ask for a raise, but I might consider a formal course to protect yourself. I also would make them put it in YOUR job description so if there's ever a problem they'll be responsible also.

[T-Bird78]

FYI--it's actually in the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) that a healthcare facility is required to provide medical translators for any non-English speaking pt. Your facility should have one on staff or contracted out or at least have access to a phone translation service.

[klone, MSN, RN]

FYI--it's actually in the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) that a healthcare facility is required to provide medical translators for any non-English speaking pt. Your facility should have one on staff or contracted out or at least have access to a phone translation service.

Interpreters!! Not translators.

[jennylee321]

You can also tell them you don't feel comfortable translating. But obviously if your patient only speaks spanish, it will probably be easier for them to assign you the patient. Just better for the patient since they can easily communicate their needs to you.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Interpreters!! Not translators.

Lol, you're fighting a losing battle there.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

How well I know that. My point is, if we live in a foreign country that does not speak our heart language, language of origin, then we need to learn the language of that country. Yes, it does take time. I spent a minimum of 8 hours a week for at least a year and a half learning, plus my study time and practicing using it. Then when I moved, I spent another minimum 4-6 hours a week with a tutor, and using/practicing it in the real world. Why should it be different for someone who has moved here to the States?

English, while the most widely spoken language in the United States, is not "THE" language of the country. The United States has intentionally never declared an official national language.

[Lackofrespect]

Actually you are not allowed to translate for the patient and you are putting your license at risk. Your facility should use a language line, if they don't you should tell them that they need one because your days of translating are over. If you want to translate, you need to take classes and be certified. You are putting yourself at grave risk for a law suit. Obviously they don't respect you, so why put yourself at risk for an employer that is disrespectful.