People in healthcare should speak Spanish, she said

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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?

I agree that kind of entitled attitude bugs me to death. It would never occur to me in a million years to go live in a country where I didn't speak the language and expect them to accommodate me. I say that, if you choose to live in a country where you don't speak the language, you're choosing to take your chances.

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Well, yes! And they should understand my Swedish! How ridiculous! We have a pt in opur unit who is Arabic. We have absolutley NO idea what she understands, if she can speak any English (she is trached) and so there is an isolation. It is terrible. In the 'old days' the immigrants ASPIRED to learn English so they could fit in. Perhaps it is no longer OK to fit in. So why in the WORLD should I learn another language if I am not living in that country? And why is it imperitive for all of us to be able automatically to converse with anyone in their native tongue? WHY? What's different from Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French...what's the difference???:uhoh3:

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Specializes in ED, MICU/TICU, NICU, PICU, LTAC.

While I do think that being able to speak Spanish in many workplaces would be a benefit, for her to remark that "people working in healthcare should speak Spanish" is pretty snotty and entitled.

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I got attitude when I told the staffing coordinator that I would not be returning to a home where I was openly and repeatedly insulted in another language. A language where I am not as ignorant as the family took for granted. Typical behavior I have found, but strangely enough, the examples come from one particular ethnicity in my experience. How am I supposed to view these people? I cringe when I hear the surname of my next patient.

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Specializes in LTC.

Come to MN and most of the patients who speak something other than English speak Hmong or Swahili (spelled terrible I know). Which I haven't the faintest clue where I would go to learn as a second language.

What languages that are helpful in depend on the region you are in. And there should be NO requirement that nurses learn second languages.

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Specializes in Wound care, Surgery,Infection control.
The smart a** in me would have wanted to retort with "People in America should speak English". I know, I know... insensitive, and I would never actually say that outloud, but it really irks me when people come to the hospital with an entitled attitude and insult their caregivers.

I lived my whole life in a state that has been taken over by "those Foreigners " and have heard this same tired argument many times. Your comment about "entitled attitude" amazes me. Let me get this straight ; a sick 78 year-old hospitalized patient has an entitled attitude and you feel insulted because they don't speak english ???? How do you think she feels when her family leaves at night and she can't communicate with her nurse ? Do you think she might be scared ? She might not understand english but a smile is universal. Maybe you could make a difference - isn't that what nurses are supposed to do ?

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I work for a global organization and it is crazy that Americans only know one language. Many people from other cultures now 3 and sometimes 4 languages. I think we should all know Spanish too. (FYI - I don't know Spanish, but I would like to learn).

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Come to MN and most of the patients who speak something other than English speak Hmong or Swahili (spelled terrible I know). Which I haven't the faintest clue where I would go to learn as a second language.

What languages that are helpful in depend on the region you are in. And there should be NO requirement that nurses learn second languages.

I live next door in WI, and we too have a large Hmong-speaking population (in addition to Spanish-speaking). There are actually MANY languages, too, that fall in to that region. I would also have to learn those, if the attitude of the patient in the OP were an accurate one. NOT going to happen.

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Specializes in LTC, OB, psych.
You should have told her that it would make more sense for her to learn English, esp. since she is the one that left her native-Spanish speaking country to move here. Of course hospitals have some responsibility to assist patients with a language barrier, but that is different from a patient suggesting that any caregivers in the US should speak what is still a "foreign" language.

So inappropriate. #1: once you're over age 12, language learning becomes extremely difficult. #2 This is America, where Spanish is (whether you like it or not) a major, major language. #3 She's sick and in a hospital. Not a good time to spank her.

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So inappropriate. #1: once you're over age 12, language learning becomes extremely difficult. #2 This is America, where Spanish is (whether you like it or not) a major, major language. #3 She's sick and in a hospital. Not a good time to spank her.

i don't think that poster was being literal.

more like, stuff we'd like to say...but wouldn't.

bottom line is, if a certain language is required, it's up to the employer to say so before hiring.

and whether spanish is a major language or not, it was still pretty arrogant for this pt to state that americans should know her language.

leslie

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I work for a global organization and it is crazy that Americans only know one language. Many people from other cultures now 3 and sometimes 4 languages. I think we should all know Spanish too. (FYI - I don't know Spanish, but I would like to learn).

Gotta disagree with that. Most people have enough difficulty communicating properly in their native language, let alone mastering 3 or 4. Illiteracy is still fairly common.. Asking, no, expecting American healthcare workers to be fluent in a language besides their native English is unreasonable imo. An American citizen decides to work in any other foreign country, and they will be expected to speak & write THAT native language fluently, particularly in a communication-heavy environment like Nursing care.

This is why most hospitals actually require English to be spoken at all times, except when on break. Language discrepancies are a major threat to effective communication. Think Tower of Babel.

OTOH, it is the responsibility of healthcare organizations to provide TRANSLATORS when there is a language barrier with a patient. However, this is different from requiring a healthcare provider to know a language besides English.

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Specializes in LTC, OB, psych.

What's the difference between Russian, Arabic, Spanish, French-Swedish, you ask? If you happen to be in the United States, it means that all but Spanish don't count for much, but Spanish-speakers constitute a huge group. Most of these people are NOT illegals, either. Someof them have families which have lived in the western U.S. from the time it was snatched from the Mexicans in the middle of the 19th century.

The "English-only" entitled attitude on this thread is disturbing.

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