One thing i dont understand(at the nurses' station)

[BellaCat]

There is one thing I can never understand being at the nurses' station(sorry if I offend anyone but here goes):

I know that the nursing realm is full of people from different walks of life and culture and that is normal bc it is like that with other professions as well. And I do know that with the nursing profession, there are a lot of American-Filipinos. But the thing that I notice, in all of my work places... is that the Filipino nurses speak their language all the time with each other in front of non-Filipino coworkers and non-Filipino patients. Isn't this rude? I believe in the employee handbook of most facilities mention about speaking the universal language in front of everyone, instead of a particular language, this is only polite, especially if your coworkers next to you doesn't understand the language you speak or your patients. I see this happening a lot and the nurses always leave me "hanging" and "wondering" what they are talking about. Wouldn't you agree that this is just rude and disrespectful.

There's nothing wrong with having Chinese nurses, Filipino nurses, Russian nurses... but I think it'll be respectful and polite to speak the universal language that everyone can understand. Unfortunately, this will always happen at the nurses' station... and I just don't understand it. It's RUDE. Gotta open up those employee handbooks and read.

I am not a troll.. I just wanted to share this perspective of mine on here. Sorry if it's offensive... but if you turn the table around, you would know how it feels.

[kakamegamama]

I bet it is a relief to them to be able to speak their native language with someone. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to always have to speak a second/unfamiliar language all the time....just sayin'

Thank you! It taxes the brain, to put it mildly. While I don't speak much of the language of the 2 Central Asian countries I'm associated with, my brain is so tired after doing so---and, that's usually just in a taxi, conversing with the driver, or at the bazaar buying food! I cannot imagine trying to speak in those languages to fellow staff or patients all the time. Or, in English, to patients if my first language isn't English.

This reminds me of the Indian nurses with whom I used to work. When at the nurses' station they'd speak their dialect. One day, I told them that I thought it was unfair...they could gossip to their hearts' content and I'd never know what they were saying. I could gossip and they'd know every single word!! We had a great laugh and moved on.

The most important thing is, how good these nurses are with patients, with family members, with skills, etc.; not what language they speak to each other in.

[OCNRN63, RN]

You could always learn Tagalog if you feel uncomfortable and left out of their PRIVATE conversations.

I have private conversations in private settings, not in places like a nurses station where I can easily be heard.

It's generally considered bad manners to speak in another language that causes others to feel excluded/isolated. It doesn't have anything to do with wanting to eavesdrop; some facilities have had issues with staff communicating not just social matters but clinical issues as well. That can be a safety issue.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

Like others have stated, I can definitely see both sides of the underlying dilemma here. However, I do NOT consider speaking a native tongue, regardless of the fact that they aren't in their native country, as being rude. If you think it is rude then you are being sensitive and dramatic, which you indirectly admitted to when you said you feel left out. You could also feel left out by two English speaking nurses sitting right next to each other whispering, or intentionally using inside jokes, etc. So the language that is being spoken is irrelevant. If you feel the need to be a part of every single conversation so you don't feel left out, try actually talking to them and engaging them in conversation. Simple as that.

[cherryelle07]

I don't care if someone speaks another language in a professional setting. I do care about your volume. Private conversations are fine as long as they do not disturb or effect another coworker's performance or their ability to complete their duties. Like I'm not going to have a big loud conversation around someone trying to chart. Or around patients who are trying to rest. Regardless of the language its spoken in. My grandmother is Thai and socialized with a lot of fellow Thai/Laotian/Vietnamese immigrants, so I grew up listening to them gossip in various dialects. I grew up attending church services performed in Vietnamese and listened to Thai soap operas as they played in the background while I played with my barbies. I never learned how to speak it sadly. Neither did my father. We understand some bits and pieces, but she never took the time to teach us. So I'm use to hearing it and it not bothering me.

[AutumnApple]

Hmph

I ran into this when I was a travel nurse. It never bothered me. I guess it can be looked at as bad manners but, it just didn't grab my attention. The lazy aid sleeping in the lounge was what got my ire.

To be honest, I figured, even if they've talking about me or complaining about me, I don't know. That works for me lol Everyone's a winner. I guess I'm weird like that.

[Daisy4RN]

I concur with you completely. I think it is rude for anyone who goes to live in a foreign country to not speak the language of that country, especially at work!! If you are traveling then maybe you don't speak the language so much but most people I know that travel (from US to other countries) do attempt to learn the basics. When at work you should always speak the language of that country, it is common courtesy!! And although I know it is not PC, I also think that any one who decides to go live in a foreign country should learn that language, again, common courtesy, and also because of the strain it puts on society when people do not (everything having to be printed in multiple languages, translators, etc.).

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Are they talking about YOUR patients? Are physician orders being missed or not carried out? Are they carrying out shift change report in English? As long as relevant staff receives pertinent info and the patient is well cared for, I don't really see what there is to be upset about.

Well, see how much you mind your business if co-workers have conversations using lewd and offensive words. Even if they're not talking to you, it would suddenly become your business...

[Overland1, RN]

I knew ill be getting something like this.

Universal language in the nurses' stations means the English language, if you don't already know what that means...

Like that which is displayed in the "Terms of Service" here about posting in English. :)

No, I am not concern about what any nurses talk about in their own language to each other.. but if they speak loudly for everyone at the station to hear... it'd be nice to speak in English.

That's called common courtesy.

The problem with common courtesy (much like common sense) is that is it is not common anymore.

I have come to believe that the basic tenets of courtesy that many of us "older" folks were taught as children and presently adhere to have become outdated. When I worked in the business world, courtesy was first and foremost. Nowadays, at least in the hospital setting, the opposite is too often a way of life. People interrupt an ongoing conversation - this goes both ways, as some folks need to be interrupted because of a critical problem that requires their prompt attention and ignore the person who must interrupt, but is usually polite. It often depends upon the situation.

[ClassyKitten]

You admitted that they speak English when they communicate with patients or need to pass on information, and I assume from that the majority of their speaking is English except for at the nurses' station where they slip into their native language casually so I'm having a really hard time seeing the problem here. I speak Spanish fluently but no matter how well I speak it English will always be more comfortable and what I would prefer to to use.

Being truly upset over this seems dramatic and silly, you're probably only going to use their conversation as white noise/tune them out so what's the point?

[wishiwereanurse, BSN, RN]

Sometimes I am the only Filipino in the nursing station, and everyone else is talking in Punjabi/Hindu/Spanish. I do not mind, as long as it is done in front of me and not in front of other patients.

[compassionresearcher]

I spent a dinner break one night at a table of 6 all speaking a non-English language. It made feel bored and left out. Again, it's manners. If you were in a group of people it would be rude to talk through the whole meal about inside jokes that 1 person didn't get and not make them feel included.

[Beldar_the_Cenobite, CNA]

I live in Las Vegas and there's a HUGE filipino population here. A girl I spent time with last semester who had the same goals I did was Filipino. She was born in the Philippines but moved here. Somehow she speaks, reads, and writes Tagalog fluently and she told me it's easy but I don't know. Russian to me isn't too hard(Grandfather served the Air Force during the cold war and met Russians while being stationed in West Germany at Spangdahlem Air Base for some special forces squadron for C-130s as he was a crew chief) and neither is Spanish(stepmother is Nicaraguan).