Nurses not speaking english at work

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caliotter3

38,333 Posts

I have had more than one Filipino tell me that their education is not equivalent to our's. They told me that they are basically two years behind what US schools expect.

Specializes in still to decide.

while i understand that it can feel extremely uncomfortable listening and sitting in the midst of other co-workers speak in their native languages.

so your agreeing it can be uncomfortable - yet reserve the right to do it? i would have liked to have kept the illusion that these people were ignorant to the fact they were making colleagues uncomfortable, guess i was just naive :'(

it is amazing that it is okay for nurses from this country to speak in english and use curse words when they are upset with a situation, and form their own "clicky" group because that is in line with "being american."

it is amazing - fancy that americans speaking english! the audacity of that! oh, and sticking to english speaking people...dont they realise what fun it is to be the only person in a group to not speak the language there freinds are choosing to speak!

i never knew what discrimination was until i came to this country. however, i channeled my experiences into a positive attitude and i have continued to act as i did in my childhood (avoid seeing color and race) when things do not go my way and rather try to address the issue at hand

???????see previous quote!

yeh - positive attitude...you really haven't noticed the race or culture of the "clicky", americans cursing, now, have you? oh yeh and what does "being american" mean to you?

.

hopefully, the experiences of the compliant will highlight the difficulties that arise when one feels out of place; fate foreign born individuals continue to face in this country.

unlike those foul mouthed "clicky" americans - right? you want to take a good long look at yourself. at least americans realise there can be discrimination and racism and are looking at themselves to correct it.

sailornurse

1,231 Posts

Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.
sorry, but when you work in the us, you need to speak english at work!

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.

mindlor

1,341 Posts

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

right so there is my question. how is it that you were born in the us and consider spanish your first language? i find that perplexing.

Specializes in still to decide.

"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."

.....and i resent that attitude!

interpretating to ensure someone gets the right care can not be compared to what in my opinion is alienating behaviour!

rn/writer, RN

9 Articles; 4,168 Posts

Speaking Spanish to a Hispanic patient is different from staff members choosing to speak another language that leaves some of the co-workers out of the conversation. English may not be the official US language, but it IS the official facility language of many employers.

If everyone--staff and patients alike--speaks the same non-English language, no one is being excluded and communication is not being hindered by someone not understanding what is being said. But that is not what the OP complained about. She was being left out of the conversation, left out of the fun, and put in harm's way by being expected to take care of the whole floor by herself while her co-workers enjoyed themselves in the break room.

Even if they all spoke English, this would be unsafe and ungracious behavior. The fact that they were conversing in another language only adds to the disrespect.

sailornurse

1,231 Posts

Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.

[right so there is my question. how is it that you were born in the us and consider spanish your first language? i find that perplexing.

even if they all spoke english, this would be unsafe and ungracious behavior. the fact that they were conversing in another language only adds to the disrespect.

spanish is my first language since that is what was spoken at home, i learned english when i started school at age 5 or 6. there is nothing perplexing about this. my mother is american born, but raised in mexico and did not learn english. i live in the southwestern united states in new mexico. it is right across the border from mexico and this part of the united states was once part of mexico before the battle of the alamo. i worked at a hospital in el paso texas (45 miles from here) and it was not uncommon for the physicians to give orders in spanish, for shift report to be in spanish, and many times if none of your patients spoke english, then you could go most of the shift without speaking much english that day. the majority of the nurses are fluent in both languages here along the us/mexico border, we even have our discharge instructions, operative permits etc printed in spanish/english for the record: i am not cognizant of what language i am listening to when listening to the radio or the news on tv, i am able to process both equally well. if you walk up to me and i have been concentrating on a task, i will respond verbally to you in the language you have spoken. i am responding to the person that is speaking to me, be they an rn or visitor and do not mean to be disrespectful. the only problem i have been bilingual is with people who mix their languages. it scrambles my brain when people switch back and forth in the same sentence!!!!:twocents:

interpretating to ensure someone gets the right care can not be compared to what in my opinion is alienating behaviour!

i agree that to alienate is disrespectful, however i am explaining that in some situations the person speaking another language may not be aware that others have perceived this as alienating and may simply be responding.

my 15 year old (mixed race) daughter whose first language is also spanish and has her father's caucasian features )has been in classes where mexican-american girls were talking about her, in spanish. she did not let them know until one month after school had started that she even understood what was being said, until she had to correct their grammar. so, yes i understand that sometimes speaking another language in the presence of other co-workers can be used to alienate. i do not approve of this. but i do not approve of nurses who tell me to speak english when on duty except when they need me to translate for them.

klone, MSN, RN

14,790 Posts

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
To expect english speaking nurses to learn another lang. Is crazy since all foreign nurses claim to be fluent in English.

I don't think it's crazy at all. In many parts of the country, 40% or more of the patient population are Spanish-speaking only. Why is it crazy to want the nurses to learn a foreign language so that they can better communicate with their patients?

One can complain about their coworkers speaking a different language, or one can look at it as an opportunity to learn a few phrases in a different language.

klone, MSN, RN

14,790 Posts

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
right so there is my question. how is it that you were born in the us and consider spanish your first language? i find that perplexing.

why wouldn't she, if that is what she grew up speaking in the home?

english is not the official language of the us! in fact, i think that in the next 20 years, english will be replaced by spanish as the most commonly spoken language in the home.

allnurses Guide

nursel56

7,078 Posts

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

anger fuelled post removed by me--

lucylu 777

67 Posts

Not cool at all! I use to worked nights and 95% were philipino rn's talking to eachother in tagalo offten bursting out laughing - not that this is wrong WHEN you are out of the work setting. I offten fealt uncomfortible aspecially after they were talking to eachother right after I asked them a question.You just get the feeling that they may be talking against you.Now, I want to make clear that I don't have a problem with people talking their own language - just not at work in the american hospital when english is the official language. I can say this because I am from germany and in the presence of english speaking people who do not speak german I always speeak english it is a common costum amongst us germans here in the U.S. I have also traveled around the world and I can tell you that in the hospitals everyone made the effort to speak english - it was hard to understand and funny at times but everyone tried their best to speak english. I amazes me that here in the States it is o.k. because anywhere else that would not "fly".:cool:

rn4ever?

686 Posts

Foreign graduates have to have their transcripts evaluated by an American credentialing agency before they can take the NCLEX. They have to declare that the foreign graduate has an equivalent education to someone who was educated in the USA before the BON allows you to sit for the NCLEX.

High school is four years in the Philippines. But even if it was just two, it has no direct connection to your college degree. If you attend a BSN program and become a US RN, then it means that your BSN degree is equivalent to the program in the US.

Phillippino nurses may have a BSN but it is not equal to the USA since they have only 2 years of high school. Also the quality of the education is poor were less than 20 percent pass their local boards to say it is better is incorrect.

Also, for patient safety one should speak English since this what the facility uses.

To expect english speaking nurses to learn another lang. Is crazy since all foreign nurses claim to be fluent in English.

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