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.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
In outpatient physicians offices sometimes those services are not offered because they cost more than the reimbursement for the appointment. Often way more. At that point legally it is not "reasonable accommodation" . That said, that is based on the past. I haven't done office nursing for 9 years now.
In outpatient physicians offices sometimes those services are not offered because they cost more than the reimbursement for the appointment. Often way more. At that point legally it is not "reasonable accommodation" . That said, that is based on the past. I haven't done office nursing for 9 years now.
Patient is not paying out of pocket, all this services are being paid by their insurance company, and it is discrimination not to provide available resources. Insurance company is the only one who is loosing money, but in some states it is a law. Patients can file lawsuit against the firm if they are made unclear interpretation and during clients visit occur some kind of mistake or miscommunication. It is that serious! Hospitals or medical offices can loose a lot of money.
If I was to move and live in Honduras I would have to learn Spanish,
If I moved to Poland I would have to learn Polish
Yet for foreigners to not, have no desire to, or expect the natives of this land to learn their language, in my opionion is slightly insulting and arrogant.
My parents are both immigrants who moved to the US in their twenties with not a word of English. They learned and entire language and made it thier mission to master it. Learning English when you come from fleunt Hebrew, and Arabic languages is not an easy task. They were determined to be Americans and learn the language of thier new land. This does not seem a priority anymore.
My husband is fluent in spanish and portuguese but boy does he gets his kickers in a knot if someone tries to talk to him in spanish once he has initated conversation in English. Usually in the retail or resturant setting. I kinda get his point in that instance why should the language be changed for the ease of the employee. The last time I noticed this was at a fast food resturant where the cashier didn't give his change and he asked for it and she switched into spanish.
Anyways whenever I can I try to speak their language and if not I'll try and get a translator but sometimes you get stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The one time where it really ticked me off though was several years ago when I was going through the green card process I was at the INS office getting something stamped and some spanish only speaking lady dragged my husband over to translate for her because she didn't trust the INS translator when it really it was they were just telling her something she didn't want to hear not mistranslating.
OP, have you considered a phone or tablet with an app that will translate for you? Not something I have myself, but just this week on my floor, I took care of a gentleman who was deaf. For communication, he had an ipad that you could speak into & it would type it on the notepad for him to read. Made things much easier for everyone that cared for him.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
this is a touchy and sensitive topic for people. interesting post. i have actually lost jobs for not being bilingual. or maybe i shouldn't say "lost", but speaking another language would have given me an edge. i think it is what it is. america is so diverse and changing. we are at a point if you want to get a job in certain areas, you need to know another language. is it "fair". probably not. but its the reality. i don't mean this to be rude, and i know people want to get away from the customer service aspect of nursing. but in many ways, patients are the customers. we just may have to learn their language or deal with translators. again, not ideal. but its the reaity of our wonderful america. hope things get better for you.
and which language should i learn to speak? we do get quite a few spanish speaking patients, but then there are those who speak only russian. or french. i've had several patients lately who speak only cantonese . . . or is it mandarin? which ever it is, no one, not even the surgeon who came here from hong kong in his twenties can understand them. maybe i should try to learn their language. arabic is a language that would be helpful . . . we get a lot of patients who speak farsi, too. or maybe i should learn to speak tagalog. which dialect, though? there are so many?
given that this is the united states, i think it's fair that people who live here should speak english. or perhaps they could be responsible for providing the translator.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i try to put myself into their position. if i was in mexico receiving medical care on vacation, i would freak out if no one around me could explain what was happening in english. even knowing plenty of spanish, i would prefer that they spoke to me in english. it would be as comforting as it would be informative in the situation.
there's a big difference between needing medical care while in a foreign country on vacation and needing medical care in your own neighborhood of fifty years and not bothering to speak the language. my mother-in-law has lived in the us for 60+ years -- and used to brag about how she never had to learn english because her doctor, dentist, butcher, dry cleaner, mechanic, etc. etc. all knew spanish. "why should i bother," she asked me one time. "they will accommodate me or i will spend my money elsewhere." unfortunately, health care seems to be like that right now.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
to the op - your post makes me sick. let us hope you never fall ill in a foreign country. though, it's highly unlikely that would occur because it's highly unlikely that you have a passport. god help you and your patients.
this comment is rude, nasty and unnecessary. it makes me sick.
Many moons ago, I had a retail job at a big box store. I quite enjoyed customer service. My only complaint? Customers - mainly older Hispanic women - becoming annoyed or even irate that I could not speak Spanish. One embarrassed English-speaking daughter informed me that her mother's rant included shaming me for forsaking my heritage.
I'm not Hispanic at all, although I've been told I look like I could be from Puerto Rico. But it gave me a rather strange lives of what it would be like to be an Anericanized child of immigrants. :)
Personally, I enjoy our melting pot of a country. I like that cultures remain intact - it's part of who we are and always have been, as evidenced by the fact that we do not have a national language. Does that mean there will be some communication issues? Sure, but we've survived for 200+ years and we'll continue to survive.
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CrunchRN, ADN, RN
4,556 Posts
In outpatient physicians offices sometimes those services are not offered because they cost more than the reimbursement for the appointment. Often way more. At that point legally it is not "reasonable accommodation" . That said, that is based on the past. I haven't done office nursing for 9 years now.