I'm currently a peds home health nurse and met with the parents of a client I might me working with. The parents have had bad experiences with foreign nurses mainly from African countries due to their accents. All through the meeting the parents kept mentioning how much they want a nurse who speaks clear English. The parents have had difficulty with communicating with these nurses that have led bad consequences. I have empathize with the parents but at the same time feel sorry for those nurses whom English is hard to understand.
I have worked with nurses and docs who were foreign with thick accents and know how challenging it can be, I can imagine how frustrated the parents may be.
I've worked with many, many professionals from other countries and I can count on one hand the number of them I have had difficulty understanding. It happens but it's rare. The fact that they have had a string of nurses they could not understand is.......odd.
Maybe it's as Sandra Dee explained to Bobby Darin: "People hear what they see". You betcha Sandra.
I'm currently a peds home health nurse and met with the parents of a client I might me working with. The parents have had bad experiences with foreign nurses mainly from African countries due to their accents. All through the meeting the parents kept mentioning how much they want a nurse who speaks clear English. The parents have had difficulty with communicating with these nurses that have led bad consequences. I have empathize with the parents but at the same time feel sorry for those nurses whom English is hard to understand.
I have worked with nurses and docs who were foreign with thick accents and know how challenging it can be, I can imagine how frustrated the parents may be.
What are your thoughts ?
Then their problems are over! Why would drop that out there except....?Jus' saying.
I've worked with many, many professionals from other countries and I can count on one hand the number of them I have had difficulty understanding. It happens but it's rare. The fact that they have had a string of nurses they could not understand is.......odd.
Maybe it's as Sandra Dee explained to Bobby Darin: "People hear what they see". You betcha Sandra.
It's been the opposite for me. You know, not everyone has perfect hearing. For me, accents are very difficult to understand-especially on the telephone. Yes, I have to ask them to repeat themselves two, maybe three times.
It's not due to racism, or being judgmental, just plain ol' minor hearing loss. And I'm still young! (all those darn concerts as a teen...)
Either way, accents are hard for me, and I've had PLENTY that I flat out could not understand.
(I live in Seattle, which is a very, very culturally diverse place)
I have issues with thick accents too. But will admit my issues with thick accents, regardless of where they are from, are entirely selfish. I have very little patience and hate asking the same thing over and over again. I also fear a mistake being made related to poor communication. I as a professional must accomodate and make an attempt to be gracious. Sad to say, the families do not and create a lot of problems for those still learning the language and various nuances called, American English. I believe it is the hardest or one of the hardest languages to learn. Foreign nurses need the time, to master it and we all need to be willing to assist them in any way we can. I notice many foreigners speak a multitude of tongues, while Americans insist on learning just one. What was your question again?
Peace!
I never asked a question, just wanted your thoughts. Everyone has a good point of view.
My grandfather sounded like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. "Herrdeee weerde gereddee, yah!" I was very used to him, so maybe I'm sort of programmed to hear through accents- IDK. :)
Holy crap I needed that.
And IDK, I guess i look at it how I have had pts refuse me because I am a male.
My grandfather sounded like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. "Herrdeee weerde gereddee, yah!" I was very used to him, so maybe I'm sort of programmed to hear through accents- IDK. :)
I LOVED Swedish Chef... and so did my kids..as soon as his music would come on we would sing his song, dum di dum di dum dum...it would end up with him saying morkmorkmork! My paternal grandparents were from Norway,
...first generation, I didn't know them too well growing up, but that was how they sounded, too.:)
Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.
Hello. I live in the nations capital where there are tons of foreigners. I am so use to hearing different accents that I personally do not have a problem understanding them usually. I would like to tell you about an experience I had in speech class (interpersonal communication), with a student from Africa. The teacher would practice words with them and one African lady got really offended, she said, "If you can't understand me that's your problem." The professor replied, "No, you're in America and that makes it your problem. Many of you are going into healthcare and your patients need to understand you. Now if I was in YOUR country and I couldn't understand you, than it would be MY problem." I thought that was a good point, but what people failed to realize was, she often corrected my speech. I have a strong "southern" accent. It was a SPEECH class.
Communication or lack of is a major issue amongst healthcare personnel and according to Joint Commission(JC); it is one of the leading cause of healthcare related errors ranging from medications, plan of care, wrong site/wrong surgery, etc. Hence, communication is one of the National Patient Safety Goals(NPSG).
Majority of the healthcare personnel involved in the cases spoke english and US educated; therefore foreign trained or healthcare workers with "thick" accents are not the problem. If one does not understand what's being said, politely ask the person to repeat what he/she is saying or repeat back to ensure what you heard is actually what was said(verbal/telephone read back).
Secondly, I'm from Nigeria but obtained my high school diploma, college and graduate degree in the US. I've worked with nurses and physicians from various background and countries, I've found that sometimes just listening attentively before trying to format a reply really helps. Additionally, I've worked with "American" nurses that spoke english and had difficulty understanding what they were saying.
I could go on and on but let me stop. Let us all remember that Listening is a skill, if you don't understand what someone is saying, politely ask the person to repeat or clarify. This works better that ridiculing someone for something he/she has no control over.
Communication or lack of is a major issue amongst healthcare personnel and according to Joint Commission(JC); it is one of the leading cause of healthcare related errors ranging from medications, plan of care, wrong site/wrong surgery, etc. Hence, communication is one of the National Patient Safety Goals(NPSG).
Majority of the healthcare personnel involved in the cases spoke english and US educated; therefore foreign trained or healthcare workers with "thick" accents are not the problem.
do you have a source/link...esp..."therefore foreign thrained or healthcare workers with "thick" accents are not the problem."
esp with the diversity in nsg (at least in boston), i find it difficult to believe that only those w/o accents are not the problem.
also, i'd love to read about communication or its lack, and how it affects healthcare.
i'm a huge proponent of communication, all forms, all levels.
I'm not an accent person. I have to hear it several times to even vaguely understand what someone is saying.
If I was a parent, I'd be very wary of who was caring for my child. I'd question and re-question anyone I didn't understand or ask for another doctor or nurse. And they also have the right to have who they want to care for their child if they're unhappy with a certain staff member.
And I'm tired of working with Asian or other nurses who ORDER me to do something, and brush me off - they don't even have the decency to say 'please can you...' as I would. Some cultures I tell you are lacking in manners, and they need to learn the manners of the country they go to.
My Dad said (I think) a Polish co-worker of his was nearly killed, cos he couldn't read a sign that said a machine was out of order - he couldn't understand it, so it is very dangerous not being able to understand others, especially in the health field.
And I don't feel sorry for people who can't understand English when going to work in an English speaking country or job. It is up to them to do a course and learn it properly, for safety's sake as well as making communication easier. I often still wonder how some people get jobs & pass the English test - the doctors are the worse. I would not let them practice myself. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Hello. I live in the nations capital where there are tons of foreigners. I am so use to hearing different accents that I personally do not have a problem understanding them usually. I would like to tell you about an experience I had in speech class (interpersonal communication), with a student from Africa. The teacher would practice words with them and one African lady got really offended, she said, "If you can't understand me that's your problem." The professor replied, "No, you're in America and that makes it your problem. Many of you are going into healthcare and your patients need to understand you. Now if I was in YOUR country and I couldn't understand you, than it would be MY problem." I thought that was a good point, but what people failed to realize was, she often corrected my speech. I have a strong "southern" accent. It was a SPEECH class.
Many people say I have a southern accent too. I find that so funny because I never been down south before. Off topic but you minded me of that.
Holy crap I needed that.
Chin up
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you betcha SharonH, RN!!