This past 2 weeks, the patients i have opened up cases for in HH speak not a work of English. They have social security numbers, Medicare benefits, and Medicaid benefits. Live in the U.S. But do not speak a word of English. Getting a family member who does or a translator at a certain time, or even to make a simple phone call and to get someone to answer the door is an utmost challenge.
I know this topic is controversial, but why am I struggling to hard to understand some Spanish so I can do my job in America?
Most are quite lovely patients. Some are just shocked that I don't speak Spanish!
My rant of the day. And these days, there are a lot of rants for me in this field, I admit it.
I recently cared for a lovely little german lady. We do not have access to language lines at this facility, so I had some flashcards with common questions, "Are you in pain?" "Are you hungry?" "Do you need anything?" "Do you need to talk to [family member]?" I got the translations with Google, and had a family member check them over to make sure they made sense.
Past that- we made do with some epic games of charades. I enjoyed it- I even learned a few things, we'd discuss her crazy german gossip magazines. She was older than 70, and had only recently come to the US. I didn't blame her a bit for not being fluent in English.
I studied French for 4 years before going to nursing school; I could kick myself for not studying Spanish instead as an undergrad. I think we both have to adapt. Buena suerte (Good luck, I think).
Again, I made this mention not just for the hospital stay. I am in home health. After the hospital stay you need to be able to manage your illness beyond having translators. Trying to teach a patient to manage their illness without someone else like a nurse managing it for them is dangerous. Then again, if they chose not to learn the language in the country they live in ( official or not official). They should be aware that it is a danger to their health. It's like ruby said, they most likely aren't going to get ahead. Maybe barely manage. But that's their choice I guess.
There are many reasons someone may be unable to learn English outside of stuborn refusal. I don't think it is acceptable to not try at all, or to expect others to accomadate you, I just have some weird pet peeves. Sorry if that came across as a negative comment.
Besides possible learning disabilities, think about what you just said: you can't get ahead with out speaking English. Education tends to cost money. There is a possibility that some of these patients do not have the means to take English classes.
I know comunication issues are frustrating. I hope your facility comes up with a way to work around such problems.
Lynx25, LPN
331 Posts
I recently cared for a lovely little german lady. We do not have access to language lines at this facility, so I had some flashcards with common questions, "Are you in pain?" "Are you hungry?" "Do you need anything?" "Do you need to talk to [family member]?" I got the translations with Google, and had a family member check them over to make sure they made sense.
Past that- we made do with some epic games of charades. I enjoyed it- I even learned a few things, we'd discuss her crazy german gossip magazines. She was older than 70, and had only recently come to the US. I didn't blame her a bit for not being fluent in English.