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?
Your assumption was that poorer people do not eat healthy food. That is a stereotype. SOME healthy food may be more expensive, but that does not mean that it all is, nor does it mean that all people that are "poorer" eat only processed junk. It is entirely possible to eat healthy on a budget, and people do (and CAN) do it. Sarcasm had nothing to do with anything (and my radar is perfectly tuned, thank you).
There's actually a well established correlation between poverty and malnutrition. From just the first page of google results for "poor nutrition poverty"
Specializes in Pediatrics, Rural, L&D, Postpartum.
actually, no. we have many asians where i live. how is my learning spanish going to provide better patient care and better patient outcomes for them?
it probably wouldn't. but, if you had one specific language that you knew you were going to encounter every single shift (or even the majority of shifts) wouldn't it make sense to learn at least a little of it? i don't know... i guess i just don't understand how people don't learn it just from exposure if they encounter it with enough frequency!
i mean, if you're using the exact same admission form for every patient... and the vast majority of your patients speak a specific language... aren't you going to hear the translator saying specific phrases again and again? aren't you going to, over time, pick up at least a little bit?
i knew nurses who actually thought that it was somehow wrong for them to even learn that much! they would deliberately refuse to learn how to even introduce themselves!
i had one co-worker who had me go in and translate the same exact request with every single family every single shift for weeks on end. how could she not at that point have at least a little ability with that? it was as if she had never heard me say the words before!
actually, no. we have many asians where i live. how is my learning spanish going to provide better patient care and better patient outcomes for them?
this is why nurses adapt to better serve their patient's population which, as you point out, varies. as a ccu nurse, it wouldn't benefit my patient's to much for me to keep up to date on the newest ob/gyn procedures, but it does benefit them to learn about the new brand of lvad we are going to be using. in your case, your patient may not benefit from you knowing spanish, but if a significant portion of them speak mandarin then they may benefit from you knowing some basic mandarin. pretty basic stuff.
Nobody is obligated to learn spanish unless your job description states so. Hospitals provide translators for that purpose. I know very few spanish words for instance I know how to ask a patient if they have pain. But don't expect me to take spanish classes to prove that am a good nurse or that I can take good care of my patients!!!
OP's patient was out of line PERIOD! It's not a rquirement for health care professionals to learn spanish, yes it's an added advantage but not a mandate!!!
This whole post is miles long with debates for and against. Maybe I'm just the dull gal in the bunch, but what is being asked of those of us who are NOT bi-lingual in spanish? Someone said here that if the translator is saying certain phrases night after night, wouldn't some nurses catch on--or learn some words here and there. But isn't that applicable for whose who don't speak english as well? Some of us who live here still speak english, so I'm sure they heard a few things themselves here and there...
It's not just nursing. That is the primary subject but if it's already affecting you guys, imagine how it's affecting others. What about your hospital custodians and kitchen workers or switch board operators. What about the CNA's, Patient care techs, unit secretaries, hospital transporters. People who hardly make enough money, as someone here put it, to eat 'healthy.' If they can only budget ramen noodles into their grocery cart--HOW are they suppose to learn spanish or any other respective language needed in the hospitals. Might as well suggest a whole nation learn a new language in order to survive--or excuse me, provide better customer/client/patron/patient care.
This whole post is miles long with debates for and against. Maybe I'm just the dull gal in the bunch, but what is being asked of those of us who are NOT bi-lingual in spanish? Someone said here that if the translator is saying certain phrases night after night, wouldn't some nurses catch on--or learn some words here and there. But isn't that applicable for whose who don't speak english as well? Some of us who live here still speak english, so I'm sure they heard a few things themselves here and there...
It's not just nursing. That is the primary subject but if it's already affecting you guys, imagine how it's affecting others. What about your hospital custodians and kitchen workers or switch board operators. What about the CNA's, Patient care techs, unit secretaries, hospital transporters. People who hardly make enough money, as someone here put it, to eat 'healthy.' If they can only budget ramen noodles into their grocery cart--HOW are they suppose to learn spanish or any other respective language needed in the hospitals. Might as well suggest a whole nation learn a new language in order to survive--or excuse me, provide better customer/client/patron/patient care.
Ok then we all learn Spanish and as I said the Chinese arrive and want their language learned by us and etc...
You can't please everyone! Lol I do agree with you though.
Specializes in Pediatrics, Rural, L&D, Postpartum.
This whole post is miles long with debates for and against. Maybe I'm just the dull gal in the bunch, but what is being asked of those of us who are NOT bi-lingual in spanish? Someone said here that if the translator is saying certain phrases night after night, wouldn't some nurses catch on--or learn some words here and there. But isn't that applicable for whose who don't speak english as well? Some of us who live here still speak english, so I'm sure they heard a few things themselves here and there...
It's not just nursing. That is the primary subject but if it's already affecting you guys, imagine how it's affecting others. What about your hospital custodians and kitchen workers or switch board operators. What about the CNA's, Patient care techs, unit secretaries, hospital transporters. People who hardly make enough money, as someone here put it, to eat 'healthy.' If they can only budget ramen noodles into their grocery cart--HOW are they suppose to learn spanish or any other respective language needed in the hospitals. Might as well suggest a whole nation learn a new language in order to survive--or excuse me, provide better customer/client/patron/patient care.
I'm sure they HAVE picked up on a few phrases. Most of them would have to do with their everyday lives, though... OUR everyday lives involve medical phrases. Most people's don't, though.
As for all of those custodians, kitchen workers, switch board operators... um, you obviously have never lived in AZ. Most of the people holding those jobs in our hospital spoke Spanish as fluently or more fluently then they spoke English!
Ok then we all learn Spanish and as I said the Chinese arrive and want their language learned by us and etc...
You can't please everyone! Lol I do agree with you though.
Here's another wrinkle: once we all learn Spanish to satisfy the "needs" of 1/6 of the US population, and then the Chinese or the French, or the Germans get on the bandwagon and demand that we all learn their language, do the Hispanics have to learn their language, too? And of course, the Chinese, or Germans, or French will have to learn Spanish to make the lives of the Hispanics easier. They will also be learning English because that's what they do. How ever will they have the time?
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
actually, no. we have many asians where i live. how is my learning spanish going to provide better patient care and better patient outcomes for them?