Nurses not speaking english at work

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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.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
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.

I didn't see that this was about Filipino nurses, but...

It is really rude for nurses to speak in another language to the exclusion of another staff member. It is inexcusable for them to take their breaks together and abandon that co-worker and make her have to cover the floor alone. This is a huge safety risk.

This has nothing to do with the US military. It has everything to do with basic courtesy and patient safety.

And, BTW, there is no nursing shortage.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
US Immig require that when a US employer petitions an RN from abroad, he/she should also be paid the same rate of what a US RN gets. If you cannot afford it, then you cannot petition.

They probably agree to work for less.

Uhm, would you kindly increase your font size? Some of us here are a bit older, and even reading glasses won't help with posts like this.

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Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.
But I take great offense on labeling Filipinos as the main culprits in this thread. Sure.... you don't talk about every Filipina in the history of Asia..... right....profiling.

And it's F-I-L-I-pino, not Phillipino.

Oh come on, don't you know that most cnas are mexican; and are busy speaking spanish? America is not recruiting Mexican registered nurses. Most registered nurses from other countries are from the Phillipines. And i rarely hear the Russian and African nurses (not african-american) speak their languages in front of patients--they have much more respect for the patients. Filipinos have become very lax in this area--thinking they are needed in hospitals--not so much anymore, though with all the american trained nurses clamoring for jobs.

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What I absolutely can't stand is when immigrants,mainly family members of patients,demand a staff member with the same ethnicity be their nurse,even if they speak english. The ones who are most demanding are the ones on medicaid. I have also seen nurses give preferential treatment to patients because they were from the same country as them.

I don't understand,immigrants have been coming to America for centuries with no problems learning english. Why ,all of a sudden, is language becoming an issue as of late? Its getting ridiculous,esp in homecare, I've had a mom who has been here 20 years who only speaks a few words in english,and I've seen immigrants who could speak english,refuse to speak english even when it was needed for them to speak english to me.(akaplaying me no speak english)

I've also had nurses with thick accents who refused to repeat themselves when I asked them to,because I have a hard time understanding accents,because according to them"you heard me the first time."

Much love to all cultures and races but It's hard to understand how some can be in the U.S. for more than 20, 30 years and not care to understand basics such as how are you?

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Nurses will speak in their native tongue whan they want to badmouth a patient/co-worker/student. In the real world, this shouldn't happen, right? Everyone and their brother on this board stress professionalism and personal responsibility, right?

And instead of beating this subject to death on these boards, simply see your nurse in charge/or HR and tell them "Hey, there's these nurses that are constantly speaking Tagalog and it makes me feel uncomfortable." If you're a student, and all that you heard was the nurses speaking in their native tongue, and therefore couldn't report back about your patient's progress--well--you sure are naive if you think you can get away with that. No instructor worth their salt will say "Oh dear, that's common. maybe next week I'll see if the English speaking nurses will be working and I'll put you with them."

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Charge nurses, supervisors, nurse managers, a lot of them do not care. They might give a speech every now and then because sometimes even patients complain. There is never any change. If they really cared, respect toward's co-workers would be enforced. Especially when everyone speaks perfectly fluent English.

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I've worked nights before and sometimes it's possible for it not to be a big deal for staff to go off and leave you on the floor when you know where the others are and how to get to them if you need them. What's a bigger problem to me is the exclusion. It's absolutely rude and on the hurtful side. And what can make speaking in other languages so callous is when a person says something in a way that they want you to know it's mean and regarding you. And sometimes the person they're saying it to will look at you in your face during their conversation. It's also very mean when people are speaking in English and then instantly change the conversation to the other language when you walk in the room or walk past. This is an example of cluelessness. Why do they feel that them and their conversations are that important to others that they have to change up the language?

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It feels like it's 500 to 1with workers from abroad at my facility. Most everybody from abroad has 2, 3, 4, 5, family members employed at the same place. When I know some who can't get in the door no matter what. Everyone who has earned a nursing license worked hard for it.

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Most registered nurses from other countries are from the Phillipines. And i rarely hear the Russian and African nurses (not african-american) speak their languages in front of patients--they have much more respect for the patients. Filipinos have become very lax in this area--thinking they are needed in hospitals--not so much anymore, though with all the american trained nurses clamoring for jobs.

Yes, the Filipino nurses, with their large population in nursing, have become difficult to work with. They not only speak their native language in clinical setting and cause barrier to nurse-nurse communication and put patients in danger, they isolate rest of the non-Filipino nurses and often known to gang-up on a particular non-Filipino nurse or other healthcare workers as they see fit. Most, if not all, nurses that are not Filipinos hate the working environment full of Filipino foodfests in nurses' breakroom and everyone around them constantly speaking in Filipino language and quickly move out of the night shift that consists of >90% Filipino nurses. As soon as the night shift Filipino nurses learn that another new non-Filipino nurse left the night shift, they knowingly nod to each other and clap. Their behavior negative and arrogant: "Either you confirm to our Filipino ways or you are out." I've watched this type of unacceptable scenario many times.

Having heard of "Speak English Only in clinical setting" rule beginning to be enforced in some of the areas and states, the Filipino nurses at work are now expressing anger, resentment, and purposely & provocatively speak even more Filipino language in front of non-Filipino nurses. There is a thick tension at work, and the nurses are divided between non-Filipinos and Filipinos. Most non-Filipino nurses generally just want to work in peace especially during this recession, but get frustrated from lack of nurse-nurse communication, not understanding what the majority of co-workers that are Filipinos are talking about, not always wanting to have ethnic Filipino foodfest in nurses' breakroom, get tired of frequently contributing their hard earned money into yet another Filipino nurse's cause; be it retirement, their kids' graduation, etc, and getting complaints from patients about their nurses speaking Filipino language in the patients' rooms, etc.

Some of the nurses are discussing a law that can be applied for "Hostile Working Environment." I personally have not looked into this particular law, but it is an option for those that are being harassed because they do not confirm to Filipino culture that seems to be predominately practiced in clinical setting.

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Specializes in MPH Student Fall/14, Emergency, Research.

Ironically I just had a class about "Cultural Safety". This thread, and in particular the kind of omg-its-an-uprising attitude that has somehow singled out nurses of Filipino descent, is everything we talked about and more.

This thread has moved from a "I feel excluded from our team because of XYZ, and there are issues of pt safety" question to a "ship em all back whether they're citizens or not" rant.

It's even starting to offend ME and I neither live in your country nor am a visible minority...

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Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

I'm going to put in my 2 pennies, but maybe get the Hazmat suit on first...

I generally don't have a problem with nurses speaking their native language around me, unless they're talking about me but that's no skin off my nose. My issue is with those nurses whose English is so poor, nobody understands them especially the patient. How is this not detrimental to the patient's care? Are they immune to promoting therapeutic nurse-patient relationships and establishing effective lines of communication? I've had many patients ask me "what did she just say?" expecting me to know like I'm some sort of psychic translator. Or the doctors that ask the same question. I just shrug and walk away. I admit I have little patience for someone who knows their language skills aren't up to par but refuse to enunciate clearly or ensure they are understood. Half the time it seems like it's mine and everybody else's problem we don't understand THEM.

I'm sorry but if I went over to your country and Swahili was the primary language but I never bothered to effectively learn to speak Swahili but rather expect everyone around me to decipher my vain attempts at communication, I would expect to be tossed out of a job.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Ironically I just had a class about "Cultural Safety". This thread, and in particular the kind of omg-its-an-uprising attitude that has somehow singled out nurses of Filipino descent, is everything we talked about and more.

This thread has moved from a "I feel excluded from our team because of XYZ, and there are issues of pt safety" question to a "ship em all back whether they're citizens or not" rant.

It's even starting to offend ME and I neither live in your country nor am a visible minority...

I agree that there is some generalizing going on regarding Filipino nurses that probably casts far too wide a net, but I don't doubt the actual experiences being shared here and the hurt it causes. There is a large population of nurses here from the Phillipines. No one is talking about minorities in the entire country. So, leaving out your impressions that some of the issues brought up here amount to cultural discrimination on a broad scale, how would you solve all the problems nurses have identified based on your "cultural safety" course?

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I don't doubt the actual experiences being shared here and the hurt it causes. There is a large population of nurses here from the Phillipines. No one is talking about minorities in the entire country. So, leaving out your impressions that some of the issues brought up here amount to cultural discrimination on a broad scale, how would you solve all the problems nurses have identified based on your "cultural safety" course?

Good question.

I happen to be one of the so-called minorities myself, and I am sharing real actual experience of present & past >10 years of nursing in USA.

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