Nurses not speaking english at work

[Guest296136]

I work nights and the majority of the night nurses are foreign, they are all very good nurses but sometimes I feel out of place because they are always speaking their language to each other. They all take their breaks together and have a feast every night, many times leaving me on the floor by myself. I am out numbered and am afraid to say anything, it took awhile to get accepted and I don't want to make waves.

[nursel56]

quote=sailornurse;4302779][ i resent this attitude as an american born rn/fnp of mexican descent. i have heard this comment before but when you need me to translate for you then suddenly it is ok'd by people with this attitude for me to speak my first language which is spanish. you can't have it both ways. with hispanics (mexican/puerto rican/cubans/and other latin people being the fastest growing minority groups in the united states. in fact, i have seen ads for states such as virginia, ohio etc looking for spanish speaking nurse practitioners.

it's strange to me that you see your interpreter duties

i was not hired as an interpreter, i am hired as a nurse. intrepreting takes time away from my patient load.

in the first post, you seem to be complaining about being asked to interpret by nurses who think immigrants should learn to speak english, because obviously, when they haven't, they will need someone to translate. it has nothing to do with having it both ways.

in the second, you're complaining that being asked to interpret takes you away from your patient load. so i'm really not sure what your point is. maybe you should take that up with the management at your facility. though you feel all nurses who work there should be forced to learn enough spanish to get by without an interpreter, realistically it isn't likely to happen. needing to find someone to interpret takes time away from the requesting nurse's patient load, too.

[Blackheartednurse]

I have a feeling that the OP is exagerrating a bit,I really dont believe that these nurses leave her on the floor by herself,do you actually believe that??? They would be fired!

[StayLost, BSN, RN]

I love that I work in a place with so much cultural diversity! I imagine that people from the same culture find comfort in chatting in their native language with each other. I have even learned a few words in Tagalog! I just don't really see what the big deal is if they are not speaking their native language in front of patients or their families. It sounds SO intolerant when people say, "you're in America-- speak English".

I also wanted to add that Texas legislation allows special permits to be given to Mexican nurses to work in counties that border Mexico. These nurses only need a TOEFL English Proficiency Test score of 475 on a scale of 310-677 to be licensed as an RN in TX-- this is because there is a far greater number of people accessing healthcare that speak Spanish as their first language.

[NurseAdida]

What nursing shortage? Nurses are out of work and looking for jobs in record numbers.

Please answer my question regarding why it is ok to give jobs to foreingers while US citizens go hungry? I do not understand.

I am not being facetious here, I am really seeking to understand the rationale.

I know of foreign nurses who are having trouble finding jobs in the US too. This economy has has affected everyone, not just US citizens. The foreign nurses you are referring to were hired back when everybody else was being hired.

[sailornurse]

what!!!???? please, for the love of the declaration of independence and the constitution and all that is sacred and holy, check your history. preferably now.

new mexico, arizona, and undisputed us control of texas (along with the now states of california, utah, nevada, and parts of wyoming and colorado) were ceded to the us after the mexican-american war as part of the treaty of guadaloupe-hidalgo and the mexican cession of 1845.

the battle of the alamo was part of the texas revolution/texas war of independence, which lasted from october of 1835 to april of 1836. the battle occurred over 13 days from february to march of 1836.

the battle of the alamo had nothing to do with national territory and more with texas declaring her independence from mexico - and the texians (yes, they were called texians)/americans got their collective behinds kicked and therefore won nothing as a result of what happened at the alamo. in fact, all except for two at the alamo were killed by santa anna and his boys (with the exception of the noncombatants, which included women and children - to santa anna's credit he spared them, gave them blankets and each adult two dollars).

(note - they were probably called "texians" because they were not only white "americans" but also mexicans who wanted out from under the mother country.)

subsequently, in revenge for what occurred at the alamo (and where the battle cry "remember the alamo!" comes from), the texians and the americans kicked the crap out of the mexicans at the battle of san jacinto in april of 1836, which effectively ended the revolution and forever broke texas' ties to mexico. (ever hear of a little place called the republic of texas?)

the alamo had nothing to do with texas statehood or with new mexico or any of the rest of the western territory of the continent. it had to do with kicking mexico out of texas and creating an independent republic, with the border established at the rio grande. the battle of the alamo was the precursor to the united states acquiring a major part of mexico, it is the battle of the alamo that started it all. it would not hurt you, since you are a history buff to read the mexican versions of these historical events. the texans had been invited to colonize texas by mexico and instead rebelled and revolted. the mexican goverment did not recognize the "republic of texas", a republic is by definition another country and mexico still considered texas part of mexico. many mexicans still view the whole issue as texas being "stolen" by the united states and the united states continued to take parts of mexico as you have detailed. many of the actions by the usa were viewed as acts of war by the mexican people.

advice: if you're going to throw around your heritage in what comes across as an attempt at sounding superior, know what you're talking about first so your quoted "facts" are correct. i am not attempting to sound superior, just stating some basic facts, especially for those that do not know that these states where once part of mexico and for before some of you tell us to "go back where you came from", the reply by many descendants is: "we never left, we did not cross the border, the border crossed us."

i'm a huge history buff and live fifteen minutes from the alamo. since moving back to texas i've become very interested in her colorful history and have read three books on the alamo and the texas revolution alone. i actually go to the alamo every time i go downtown - it's about a forty second walk from the riverwalk and i usually end up walking past it on my way there because the parking lot i use is one block down from it. i've placed flowers there several times out of awe for what they tried to do there and for what they did accomplish. help was coming, and they never got the message.

(another note: we have "six flags over texas" because there have been six national flags over texas: spain, mexico, the republic of texas, france, the united states of america flag, and the flag of the confederate states of america. just a fun tidbit to close off a rant.) :) technically only 5 national flags, and one disputed state belonging to mexico.

[nursel56]

No doubt the Mexican version of history is different. Perhaps that's why we hear a small segment of the Mexican people sill declaring that California, (and other states but I'm not versed on other individual state histories) actually IS Mexico, and the anglos are the "illegals". We'll just leave aside for the moment whether it's legal for a Spanish monarch to "grant" land occupied by native peoples to their cronies and benefactors. It it is far more than a border that defines a country, and if Alta California had remained part of Mexico, immigrants would probably be attempting to skirt the law and cross into Oregon and Nevada. You'll never hear it from the bull-horn wielding activists, but many regular folks would love to stay in their home country. It's just that the problems are so entrenched they see no realistic way out.

[sailornurse]

i also wonder what some of these people who are fluent in spanish/see it as their native language would think if two rns fluent in german or taglog or french or whatever insisted on speaking to each other in that language to the exclusion of the spanish speaker. sorry - can't help it.

i have no problem with this as they are socializing and may be more comfortable. i have worked with filipina nurses both in phoenix and other cities. i can not help that spanish is my first language as it it is the language i happened to have learned first.

[sailornurse]

in the first post, you seem to be complaining about being asked to interpret by nurses who think immigrants should learn to speak english, because obviously, when they haven't, they will need someone to translate. it has nothing to do with having it both ways.

in the second, you're complaining that being asked to interpret takes you away from your patient load. so i'm really not sure what your point is. maybe you should take that up with the management at your facility. though you feel all nurses who work there should be forced to learn enough spanish to get by without an interpreter, realistically it isn't likely to happen. needing to find someone to interpret takes time away from the requesting nurse's patient load, too.

i have never stated in any post that anyone should have to learn spanish!!!!!

i am stating that there are people as some posters have stated" this is america, speak english at work". then when they need a an interpreter are the same people (yes i have had this happen especially when i worked in phoenix arizona) that now want me to translate for them which is why i said " you can't have it both ways!!" you can not tell me to speak english while on duty, then expect me to now function as an interpreter which i was not hired to do. either i am allowed to speak english in the line of my work, but can socialize in either language while on duty and serve as an interpreter to assure patient safety. again, i resent people stating: this is america, speak english when america was founded by people from all over the world.

as for management, there are some places that are actually hiring/training translators (i think i heard phoenix police dept but don't have facts) this would solve the issues of interpreting being done correctly without taking a nurse away from patient care.:redbeathe

[nursel56]

QUOTE=Hushdawg;4304976]Not a good argument to make since 95% of the schools also teach Spanish as early as 1st grade to help children become bilingual in an increasingly bilingual nation.

Roughly 40% of all Americans consider Spanish to be their first language; like it or not, America is a bilingual nation.

That's quite a trick considering they only comprise 15% of the total population as of 2008. Perhaps you have a more accurate source than the Census Bureau? No need to mention uncounted illegal immigrants causing a false low since you specified Americans, and the census attempts to correct for that. Your assertion about what, how and when Spanish is taught in elementary school is also completely false. If you were to say that 95% of Spanish-only (or Korean, Russian, Chinese or Armenian-only) speaking kindergartners and 1st-graders are taught English as early as possible you would be correct. Thank God young children don't have a jingo-istic view toward language. They are very practical. They just want to be able to talk to their friends, no matter what language is spoken in their homes.

[Hushdawg]

Agreed. The exception being when your employer asks you to speak English with your co-workers.

I have no argument with that.

I am an advocate of enforcing an English Only policy when dealing with patients, family, etc (unless of course you are capable of speaking the language they need).

I am an advocate of strictly enforcing English Only Policy when on the clock at any time in any facility.

However, break time is break time and you shouldn't be forced to speak English if you want to relax into your native tongue with others who speak the same.

I'm a bit irritated at some of these English Speaking Superlatives that I've seen posting here.

I wonder if they'd feel the same way if they lived in another country for a while.

[Hushdawg]

That's quite a trick considering they only comprise 15% of the total population as of 2008.

You are correct... I got my percentages and my numbers mixed up.

45 million Hispanics who speak Spanish as their first language which is roughly 15% of the 2008 population census.

So when I said roughly 40% I was getting those figures jumbled in my head.

Still, 45 million Spanish speakers makes the USA the home of the second largest Spanish-Speaking community in the world (the largest being Mexico).

I consider having Spanish knowledge a requirement for successful career paths no matter what your occupation may be.

[kty1]

We have a large population of RNs born in the Phillipines who speak Tagalog. Few people know this, but the Phillipines have been under US military control since the Spanish-American war (similar to the relationship the US has with Puerto Rico and Guam). Filipinos are not allowed to participate in US elections, but are often given immigration preference to work as RNs during periods of nursing shortage.

The US has had free reign to "use" the Phillipines for its military purposes since the late 1800s. Once could argue that if citizens of a country are subjected to military colonization, they should have the same rights as citizens of that country.

I, personally, am happy to see to Phillipine-born RNs enjoying the benefits of our economy.

Are you kidding me???? You did not address the question posted. The question was not freedom to practice in US if you are foriegn. Please readdress the question and all you did was give a history lesson. When you are at work ALL THE NURSES SHOULD UNDERSTAND/SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE, as this is a safety concern; and it's also called RESPECT TOWARDS YOUR FELLOW NURSE! How rude to be sitting next to a group of your peers and they are talking in another language. I thin phoenixrn you need to be in this enviornment each day and really see how it might feel to be subject feelings of islolation.