I had a 78 year old woman patient, bunch of kids and grandkids in the room. The patient spoke only Spanish and the grandson was translating. As I was exiting the grandma patient said something forceful so I turned and asked the man what she'd just said, and it was exactly that: "People in Healthcare should speak Spanish."
I was, well, insulted, speechless, fill in the blank. The patient had not been much of a problem until then. I stared at the grandson and didn't reply, just left. As I thought about it, I started thinking. I'm not a foreigner, why should I learn another language? I'm in the middle of the country to boot! And, why are these people insulting their caregiver anyway?
Talking this out with other nurses, I guess I wasn't the first one to hear such stuff. Is this something I should get used to?
People can bemoan it all they like, but in our lifetimes 40% of the US population is going to be Spanish speaking and the jobs are going to go to professionals that can communicate most effectively with the most people. Patients/clients/customers will go to providers and facilities that go the extra mile, and those businesses and individuals will reap the rewards for their extra effort (which is the American way, after all). Conversely, I suspect English only speakers will encounter a lot of difficulty.
Amazing...
We as a society and country will be our own ruin and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
If you want to get technical, no, it never "belonged" to the Spanish people as you're implying. Spanish people weren't indigenous. Spain conquered the native indians too, long before the Brits ever did it in the northern part of the continent. Spain and the US were the ones who established the Mexican-American border with a treaty. The US fought an independent Mexico for California, Texas, and New Mexico.
By the way, Mexico is younger than the US, getting independence from Spain in 1821.
Ok let me be more specific most indians are related to south americans.I believe that the real americans are south americans not European Americans who came here uwelcomed,killed and enslaved the native inhabitants of this big land.This past cannot be excused,forgotten or erased.I always tell my illegal south american friends that they are more american than any European American ever will be.Seriously this is a huge paradox,irony.
We as a society and country will be our own ruin and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
I don't even know what that means. I doesn't surprise me that people are resistent to learning Spanish, and If they don't want to learn Spanish then they don't have to, for now. I think it is an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face and it surprises that base self interest isn't enough to motivate adaptation to the changing world. In any event, for those that do obtain at least functional Spanish, the result is going to be win-win for them AND the patients.
I don't even know what that means. I doesn't surprise me that people are resistent to learning Spanish, and If they don't want to learn Spanish then they don't have to, for now. I think it is an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face and it surprises that base self interest isn't enough to motivate adaptation to the changing world. In any event, for those that do obtain at least functional Spanish, the result is going to be win-win for them AND the patients.
The fact is that a lot of places prefer speaking spanish nurses.I work in a home health setting and lost some patients because I wasnt able to communicate with them in Spanish,also recently I got a call from a recruiter representing the best hospital system in my huge metropolian area and I didnt get that job because I didnt speak spanish.
We as a society and country will be our own ruin and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
I don't understand how the changing face of America will ruin us as a country. Isn't our country (and world) still great regardless of what languages we speak or do not speak? Personally, I love to be exposed to different cultures and hearing different languages being spoken in the streets. Nobody has to learn how to speak Spanish, or any other language, but it is certainly an advantage to be able to.
Yup. Adaptation or extinction. I know what I'll choose. Let the others become unemployed and bitter, lol.
That is an excellent point of view. But, just because it'll be good for you and anyone else who is bi-lingual doesn't mean it's going to have the great outcome that you think.
When people, who only speak english, start to realize that they can't get jobs and support their families. When bills start piling up and there is no food to provide. When one interview after another leads to a dead end because of they haven't learned the language required...then what? In a perfect world, sure people would line up for spanish speaking courses but those who can't... has it crossed anyone else's mind that the crime rate will go up tremendously. Let's be honest here, people who can't speak english get a lot of job opportunities. For a long time, that fact hasn't threatened the 'professional' community but lo and behold it's starting to now. If people who don't speak english can get jobs (without the whole language barrier not being a problem) why should it be an issue for people who don't speak spanish?
Rather it's official or not, we all know what the primary language is here. Our government addresses us in english, our schools and colleges are taught in english. Come on, it's not hard to figure out. I'm not saying that people should or shouldn't learn it but what's good for the goose should be good for the gander. If you don't want to make an effort to learn english, then the response is going to be I don't want to learn spanish.
When I am old and retired and living good off the hog, I don't want my home invaded by one of those 'unemployed and bitter' people. I don't want to have to understand that, 'well they don't know any other way to survive so I'll just chalk it up to desperation.' This subject of discussion is restricted to this forum alone and people are outraged in one form or another. Imagine when the whole country is involved. It isn't going to go well--that I firmly believe. There will be anarchy, there will be division and the crime rate will sky rocket.
And I'm not trying to be offensive at all, it's hard to express yourself on an internet forum. I do understand all points of views; this topic is just the icing of the cake. There is a bigger picture that involves everyone.
I agree with life_aknew. Many, many foreign nurses, even the ones that are born born in Aust, cannot even speak intelligible English and they all seem to get work. I worked with an Indian cardiac nurse one night and, as the caste system still exists there, I was talked down to like I was an absolute fool. I asked my gf who is Indian about this, and she said that many Aust whites are looked down upon as 'inferior' or being in the lower caste. I excelled at English Literature and English throughout all my schooling, won awards etc, and yet someone who tells me to get an antibiotic prepared, and who can't even pronounce the AB correctly needs some serious education. It actually really, really ****** me off no end. In the end I told her I would do the basic nursing and she could do the ABs etc, and I was summarily dismissed by her for the night (not that I cared).
I predict that it will catch up with the hospital system here, we have already had cases of miscommunication where children have died. I was studying law b4 nursing and when I worked in a law office, lawyers loved these cases - they would literally be bouncing in their seat with glee and pounce on those who can't speak OR write English. Have you read notes by foreign nurses? I for one find many of them unintelligible and extremely confusing, but nobody does a census of the notes, so it is not picked up unless everyone complains.
My gf's Dad is Spanish. I love him & her Mum like my own parents. Her Mum made the effort to learn good English, but her Dad refused (only picked up some words). It used to frustrate me no end when my gf wasn't there to translate for him, and frankly it was embarrassing. He worked in Aust in an industrial setting his whole life until he got ill. How he kept getting jobs, I have no idea.
And it is a HUGE safety issue as well - my Dad knows people he worked with who have nearly been killed cos they couldn't read the safety warnings and/or signs. Very dangerous.
There needs to be an independent body in my opinion to look into that bigger picture to see what is actually going on at ground level, and what mistakes are being made. I often think when I am old am I going to be cared for by these people who don't know English, don't know the Aussie background (our culture, sport, etc), and who don't care? I blame agencies for allowing people to come here from other countries.
The quality of nursing care will deteriorate, peolple will get frustrated, and it will all come crashing down one day when people start complaining en masse about this problem.
I don't understand how the changing face of America will ruin us as a country. Isn't our country (and world) still great regardless of what languages we speak or do not speak? Personally, I love to be exposed to different cultures and hearing different languages being spoken in the streets. Nobody has to learn how to speak Spanish, or any other language, but it is certainly an advantage to be able to.
What I'm saying, is that our accomodating behavior is what will ultimately be the ruin of this country (in regards to this subject and beyond). I am not bias, I have no right to be as I have my father's blood pumping through me. But he worked hard to 'fit in' and adapt to a people that was not his own. He came here on a work visa and worked the farms in Florida. He found a way to pick up what he could here and there to fit in with his fellow man. It can be done, it isn't impossible.
If I remember correctly, you said that you are fluent in Mandarin because of your parents-correct? Do they speak english-even if a little? It seems an old school thing these days that those who migrate here learn english. The simple fact is that they don't have to because they have no need to learn-therefore no desire. A lovely poem comes to mind that should be amended:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Our cultures and eccentricities is what makes this country the melting pot. Our accents and dialects interests one another. When people come here from different countries, they don't feel awfully uncomfortable or they wouldn't stay here for generations. The majority makes them feel welcome by providing them what they need. How should I be the one to feel uncomfortable in a country I was born and raised in because I don't know spanish? And yes the question can be reversed but once again, official or not--english was and is the primary language. I'm not right fighting or anything but I understand the fear that seems like anger, of being pushed out and or extinct. We, as a country, have never pushed those who are non-english out, but it looks as if we are getting the boot. It isn't fair, as childish as that sounds. It just isn't.
It's funny how this certain group risks their lives to come over here for a better life, live here for years and refuse to learn English. Why? Because we enable them. I mean even the ballots are in spanish. Like really? Why should they learn if almost everything is in their language. It's sad.
I am sorry I would go off on Someone that got mad because I didn't speak their language. I mean. This is America! My German grandfather came over here to have a good life and immediately learned English. So why can't these people do it too?
What I'm saying, is that our accomodating behavior is what will ultimately be the ruin of this country (in regards to this subject and beyond). I am not bias, I have no right to be as I have my father's blood pumping through me. But he worked hard to 'fit in' and adapt to a people that was not his own. He came here on a work visa and worked the farms in Florida. He found a way to pick up what he could here and there to fit in with his fellow man. It can be done, it isn't impossible.
If I remember correctly, you said that you are fluent in Mandarin because of your parents-correct? Do they speak english-even if a little? It seems an old school thing these days that those who migrate here learn english. The simple fact is that they don't have to because they have no need to learn-therefore no desire. A lovely poem comes to mind that should be amended:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Our cultures and eccentricities is what makes this country the melting pot. Our accents and dialects interests one another. When people come here from different countries, they don't feel awfully uncomfortable or they wouldn't stay here for generations. The majority makes them feel welcome by providing them what they need. How should I be the one to feel uncomfortable in a country I was born and raised in because I don't know spanish? And yes the question can be reversed but once again, official or not--english was and is the primary language. I'm not right fighting or anything but I understand the fear that seems like anger, of being pushed out and or extinct. We, as a country, have never pushed those who are non-english out, but it looks as if we are getting the boot. It isn't fair, as childish as that sounds. It just isn't.
To answer your question, yes, my parents speak English. My mom knows enough to get along and my dad speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, German, and French.
To answer your question, yes, my parents speak English. My mom knows enough to get along and my dad speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, German, and French.
Sounds as if your dad is on the right track to being the ideal nurse, by this discussion's standard :)
life_aknew
143 Posts
Amazing...
We as a society and country will be our own ruin and we have no one to blame but ourselves.