No Hablo Español

[Private Peds Nurse]

But what about patients that are so stubborn and will not give an inch to nurses who are really trying to please them?

I will never forget one little beautiful and a very old woman who had a Hispanic background. She never learned to speak English, as her family stated she was from the old country and had never desired to learn English. To help all the staff that did not speak Spanish, phrases like "are you in pain" "where does it hurt" "do you need anything" "are you hungry" and so on were posted on large pieces of paper that were hung over her bed. She apparently was fed up with doting South Georgia nurses trying to perfect their accents. Being from Hawaii, I too had an olive complexion. As I walked in, the patient seemed happy to see me, or so I thought for about one minute.

Trying to look like I knew how to communicate with this little woman, I took one look at the paper signs hanging over her bed and attempted to communicate with her. She all of a sudden got very angry and started yelling at me and motioning for me to get out of her room.

I had no idea what I had said or done wrong to upset her and proceeded to find someone who understood Spanish, hoping to make amends. After a nurse fluent in Spanish came to my aid and as I explained to her what had happened, I very quickly found out that nothing I had said upset her at all.

She firmly and honestly believed that since I was "olive complexioned as her" that I too should be fluent in Spanish, and nothing I could do or say could convince this little woman that I no hablo Espanol!

I had to be replaced by a nurse who spoke Spanish, and even though this nurse explained to her that I did not speak Spanish, she never believed her. I was not allowed back in her room and I certainly was not allowed to be her nurse.

Although I found this very interesting that she thought that complexion could dictate what languages I should speak, I did understand that with her age and beliefs that I was not able to convince her that I was Hawaiian and did not speak Spanish.

And here 20 years later, I still no hablo Espanol. Nurses just remember you can please some of the patients some of the time, but, no matter what you do; you CANNOT convince some patients of anything, no matter how hard you try!

[patrick1rn, MSN, RN, NP]

We as nurses need to provide compasionate care for all regardless

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

we as nurses need to provide compasionate care for all regardless

huh? where did that come from? i don't think anyone was advocating not providing "compasionate" care.

[Vito Andolini]

i don't speak spanish, nor do i look as if i should. i love mexican food however. i remember stopping at a mexican restaurant while passing through texas with my husband, whose family is from latin america. a couple of the waiters were apparently discussing the size of my chest in spanish, confident in their (correct) assumption that i couldn't understand them. my husband did understand them, and was not happy with the way they were disrespecting his wife. he made some anatomically impossible suggestions, and it nearly came to blows! now i sometimes ask him to "speak spanish to the waiter" before it gets that far!

of course, let's remember that spanish comes from spain. it was imported to south america, the caribbean, etc. by spaniards exploring the new world. similarly, french comes from france, and so on with other languages. with today's small world, it is not at all unusual to hear every language under the sun wherever we go.

[RN BSN 2009]

LOL yes it's true.

[lpn2icu]

First time I met someone from the Phillipines I knew they weren't Latino. However, when the started speakign Spanish to me thinking I was Latino I was shocked that they spoke Spanish. Of course, that was before I knew anything about the Phillipines ROFL.

Filipino people are very mixed just like the Latinos. They can go from looking like East Asians (Chinese, Japanese), Mexicans, Aboriginals in Australia. The ones that look like Mexicans and Aboriginals confuse me the most!

[CHATSDALE]

my size, complexition show my hispanic roots, but i was not raised in a bilingual home and it really raises some raised eyebrows because i do not respond in spanish,,,i have been told it is insulting to ask someone to speak english but since language is used to communicate if i can't speak or underdtand we are not going to get too far in understanding each other

i have bought some german books that were on sale, i am determined to be bi-lingual before i die and i have heard that german is the easiest language to learn..besides they were the cheap, the woman at the flea market says that she has some movies and television tapes in german, the next time i am there i am going to see if she has them..i think that would be a helpful way to learn

[gr8fulnurse]

A similar thing happened with one of my friends.

My "non-hables espanol" husband (who is very exotic but not latino - actually he's part Japanese), during our vacation in Mexico, was once offered a man's 14-yo sister for a couple hundred pesos....my husband had absolutely no idea what he'd been offered - but, oh, yes, his blonde, hazel, very white wife who DID hablo espanol laughed her butt off! However, the Mexican man looked horrified and ran away! Actually, that's what made me laugh - not the offer!

[C_K_GrodeckLPN]

Have you ever considered taking a class in basic Spanish? It might be worthwhile. Also I have found basic American Sign Language to be helpfulto those who are hearing impaired &/or trach dependant. Those are a couple of helpful ideas.:idea:

[Quilter0225]

Have you ever considered taking a class in basic Spanish? It might be worthwhile. Also I have found basic American Sign Language to be helpfulto those who are hearing impaired &/or trach dependant. Those are a couple of helpful ideas.:idea:

I took a class in ASL several years ago. One day I had a deaf client. I was able to remember a few phrases, how to introduce myself, etc. The problem came when I asked her when was her last bowel movement. I couldn't remember the sign, and she had never heard of "bowel movement," so my written question stumped her. I tried writing out "poop," which seemed a little more comprehensible. We ended up laughing because I had to make up motions to get my point across. In the case of this patient, the fact that I even attempted to use her language went a long way. Later her (hearing) daughter complimented me on my attempts to sign. Thank goodness for patients who have a sense of humor!

[C_K_GrodeckLPN]

Humor/ a good laugh is always an international language factor.:chuckle

[Justhere, BSN, RN]

I was living on a large (plantation) farm when I first got married. The father that owned the farm had recently passed away so the son moved back home to run the farm. My husband worked in the gas station/tractor shop, and that was the hang out for alot of the farm hands. One day the new boss man walked in (the son) and the hispanic farm hands were in the tractor shop, they stopped talking in English and started speaking in Spanish together. Needless to say they were talking about the new boss man, and not is such a good way. The boss man stood there and smiled at them while that talked for awhile, then he replied in fleunt Spanish "If you wish to talk bad about me, please do it to my face in my own language, not hide behind yours." Needless to say my husband told me that was the last time any of them spoke Spanish around the boss man.