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.

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.

YOU ARE KIDDING, right!!!!!!

This is very insulting to all of us other immigrants! Why should we learn spanish? We live in America where english is the official language ( at home u speak whatever you want).Why should my kids learn spanish? what kind of a person would say something like that? And you wonder why they have riots in Arizona....:mad:

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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.

The transcripts are evalated for basic nursing education which is an ASN. High school maybe 4 years but the total education is 10 years not 12. Some Canadian provicence have evaluated the Phillippine education to be equal to a lpn. But we are getting off bAse, at work I do not talk about a subject that would exclude my co worker, for example if everyone but one person attended An event, I woild not talk a out it in front of the person who did not attend.

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YOU ARE KIDDING, right!!!!!!

This is very insulting to all of us other immigrants! Why should we learn spanish? We live in America where english is the official language ( at home u speak whatever you want).Why should my kids learn spanish? what kind of a person would say something like that? And you wonder why they have riots in Arizona....:mad:

Yes we should learn Spanish,POPE knew several languages,are you saying that he was insulting other countries? He could have preached in Polish or Italian but he was gracious and respectful enough to learn other languages to communicate with people all around the world.

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Yes we should learn Spanish,POPE knew several languages,are you saying that he was insulting other countries? He could have preached in Polish or Italian but he was gracious and respectful enough to learn other languages to communicate with people all around the world.

Yes, he was gracious and respectful and that's why he learned so many languages to speak german in germany , italian in iltaly, latin in vatican because it was the language of the place and people who lived in there, so what is your point?..., I speak 6 languages and english is my last language I had to learn because when we moved to this country this is the language that is used. I still speak german to my mom, french to dad, polish and german to my grandparants, and in europe in school had to learn russian because we lived in those countries and out of respect we had to learn their language. Read my post carefully, are you saying that in 20 years the amerrican people and other foreign people will be forced to speak spanish or else?

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Please explain to me how the Europeans were able to 'discover' a land that my ancestors were already living on. Are we not human? Are we in some lower class than the Europeans that the fact that we were here already just did not count as human habitation?

In my opinion want happened to the Native Americans was sinful. Ditto to the Blacks who were brought over as slaves. This happened many generations ago, how long do I have to pay for the sins that race ( not my heritage ) committed.

Back to the issue of speaking English, worldwide English is the language of aviation. In the hospital English is the default language, the medications, the written record, and the bill sent out is in English.

It is rude and disrespectful not to be inclusive of all when working, it seems like Internationally trained nurses are the biggest offenders. When I was supervising a group of English as a second language they spoke English, only on one occasion when an internationally trained nurse could not think of the right word, her co worker spoke in their native tongue and then they apologized.....to me this was professional.

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Specializes in NICU.
In my opinion want happened to the Native Americans was sinful. Ditto to the Blacks who were brought over as slaves. This happened many generations ago, how long do I have to pay for the sins that race ( not my heritage ) committed.

Back to the issue of speaking English, worldwide English is the language of aviation. In the hospital English is the default language, the medications, the written record, and the bill sent out is in English.

It is rude and disrespectful not to be inclusive of all when working, it seems like Internationally trained nurses are the biggest offenders. When I was supervising a group of English as a second language they spoke English, only on one occasion when an internationally trained nurse could not think of the right word, her co worker spoke in their native tongue and then they apologized.....to me this was professional.

MedSurg32RN, I agree completely, when you are on worktime, you speak the language of the workplace. To not do so is rude, excludes people, and makes no sense if everyone is fluent in the same language.

The previous poster, whom I was disagreeing with, however was way, WAY off from this topic, and had left the workplace entirely, referring to the country, and entire groups of people that he happens to disagree with as a whole. He was purposefully inflammatory, nothing more.

BTW, you don't have to apologize to me or 'pay for' anything at all. No matter what your race or ethnic heritage is, you have done nothing to me. While I don't believe in holding entire cultural groups responsible for things that happened prior to their time though, I do have a particular sore spot for obstinate ethnocentricity (as shown in previous posters messages), especially when it is shown through language that I find is derogatory towards my culture.

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I don't want to go off topic and sound like a troll but I have heard the reason employers prefer the foriegn born nurses is because they tend to have higher degrees(bsn) than Usa -educated nurses. I have also heard they provide better customer service.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Founding fathers were native indians,have you been asleep during history class?>

Also consider buying a house on the desert,you will be there alone,just you and the occasional cactus,you will be happy.

If the Founding Fathers were native Indians, what kind of message do you think they were sending by writing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in English?

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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."

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Founding fathers were native indians,have you been asleep during history class?>

Also consider buying a house on the desert,you will be there alone,just you and the occasional cactus,you will be happy.

They were? I guess I was asleep then,because I thought they were of european descent,lol. I think if you had a little bit of native american in you,you are still considered "white",but I may be wrong.

I don't see how bringing up the past pertains to the op.

I would like to learn spanish,will they have free classes for me to attend instead of paying out of pocket? I would attend if they do.

But that would be no gaurantee. Spanish speaking people would want me as a nurse,because I don't look like them.

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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.

there wouldn't be a need for you to translate if they had learned english in the first place.

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Specializes in Nursing Informatics, E.R., med surg, ENT.

Being left behind during a shift is unprofessional and unsafe. Speaking in a foreign language in front of a non-speaker is impolite. I would not do that to a fellow professional who does not speak that language.

At times I would be labeled of being too "American" or "snobbish" by others of my ethnicity for answering them back in English instead of the foreign language. (I do speak 5 languages fluently) I do translate for non english speaking patients when the need arises.

My respects to all the bilingual and foreign born nurses. But sensitivity to ones culture and identity is a 2 way street. If you are in a hospital where there are staff members of different ethnicities and backgrounds, then we should all speak the language that is common to all of us, English. We have that goal of providing the best nursing care to all who need us. A common language to understand and communicate with each other is vital in order to meet that goal.

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