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.
Let me clarify my statement about ridicule. I didn't say nurses on the website were ridiculing anyone . But I have had experiences of nurses making fun of colleagues accent.
I agree with you, patient safety should be priority and not be jeopardize. Every patient and his/her family has the right to seek and demand best care for their loved ones.
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that does happen, and it shouldn't.
And that is just a phone conversation...a one time encounter. The OP is working for a home health agency. I think they have every right to ask for someone they can understand in the presence of their own home. It is much different to be tolerant in an office, at the bedside or over the phone when contact is limited...but in your home on an everyday basis??
I agree. Since my home is in Florida I think of how difficult it would be for newly diagnosed, possibly slightly hard of hearing seniors to deal with this. I think that many would simply refuse the offered service rather than try to get past it or ask for someone easier to understand for fear of offending.
Concerning the question of health care workers with strong accent:
I had the recent experience of a telephone consult with an RN from my insurance company regarding my diabetes management. She had a very strong accent. The information she was imparting as well as the questions she was asking were important and as this was the initial interview it was extensive and detailed.
Her accent made it very difficult to be sure of what she was asking as well as what she was advising. I did continuously ask her to repeat herself, blaming it on "poor cell phone connection" as it became embarassing and uncomfortable after a while to ask for so many repeats. What I was able to understand of her information was quite thorough and she seemed knowlegable. However, after about 30 minutes of conversation I was actually mentally tired from the effort and ended the conversation without asking some questions I would like to have pursued further.
Not related to my healthcare, but I have had experiences like this and I can SO relate.
Your post also reminds me that there is another aspect to the communication issue when dealing with someone who not only has an accent but has grown up in another culture. Sometimes concepts and meanings are not clearly understood, either due to a lack of direct translation in meaning from one language to the other, or because there is a lack of understanding of our slang.
One example that comes to mind was actually posted in another thread by someone else. The jist of the post consisted of a patient telling his foreign born doctor that he had a "frog" in his throat, and the doctor actually thought the patient was psychologically impaired because he didn't understand what the patient actually meant. This is kind of a funny example, but it does underscore the types of communications issues that we face when speaking with others with different backgrounds.
One example that comes to mind was actually posted in another thread by someone else. The jist of the post consisted of a patient telling his foreign born doctor that he had a "frog" in his throat, and the doctor actually thought the patient was psychologically impaired because he didn't understand what the patient actually meant.
I can't help myself...politically correct or not, but that IS funny. I can just picture the Dr. telling patient to open up and say "ahhhh" while looking for a green jumping object.
Pediatric Homecare nurse here. Mom and Dad of the patients can pick and chose anyone they want to care for their child. It's their home and their child. I don't blame them. This is the USA, we speak English, if I was in France, I'd be expected to speak French. No debate will matter, the mom's and the dad's are the boss, end of story.
When I first moved to TX, I had no clue about regional sayings.....when someone said they were "fixin' to fall out", my thought was if they'd ALREADY fixed it , they wouldn't have to worry about falling out! I did not think I should check their BP and get them to a safe position
When I first moved to TX, I had no clue about regional sayings.....when someone said they were "fixin' to fall out", my thought was if they'd ALREADY fixed it , they wouldn't have to worry about falling out! I did not think I should check their BP and get them to a safe position
That reminds me...I used to spend a lot of time around a particular group of people for whom "fixin' to" was a common phrase. The problem was, they would further smoosh the words together and shorten the phrase so that it came out like "finna," or "fin to." It didn't take long to catch on but I was completely baffled at first!
Approximately 75% of the health care professionals are foreigners, when there was a huge shortage of nurses, hospitals were hiring workers all over the world. It depends with the client, because its hard to change one's accent especially when the person is old. Yes! kids can catch up fast. Communication is between the receiver and the deliver.. meaning if the receiver is willing to listen, then will understand.
Approximately 75% of the health care professionals are foreigners, when there was a huge shortage of nurses, hospitals were hiring workers all over the world. It depends with the client, because its hard to change one's accent especially when the person is old. Yes! kids can catch up fast. Communication is between the receiver and the deliver.. meaning if the receiver is willing to listen, then will understand.
Where did you get 75% ??? Is that all departments, or direct care personnel???
Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.
That reminds me...I used to spend a lot of time around a particular group of people for whom "fixin' to" was a common phrase. The problem was, they would further smoosh the words together and shorten the phrase so that it came out like "finna," or "fin to." It didn't take long to catch on but I was completely baffled at first!
hmmm.... I think you know me. I'm finna go to bed now. GN. (LOL!!!!!!)
Approximately 75% of the health care professionals are foreigners, when there was a huge shortage of nurses, hospitals were hiring workers all over the world. It depends with the client, because its hard to change one's accent especially when the person is old. Yes! kids can catch up fast. Communication is between the receiver and the deliver.. meaning if the receiver is willing to listen, then will understand.
Assuming that your figure representing foreign healthcare professionals is actually 75% IN THE U.S., those foreign healthcare professionals still need to speak the language of the country in which they live, and speak it well enough to be understood. Foreign healthcare professionals SHOULD understand this since virtually all countries besides the U.S. require that foreigners visiting or moving to their native countries be understood in the respective language of the country to which they are visiting or moving.
Sure it can be difficult to overcome an accent when one is old, but that shouldn't be an excuse when it comes to healthcare. In other settings, accents can be fun, exotic, and sexy. In a healthcare setting they can be a detriment, and to say that all one has to do is "listen" and and he/she will understand shows a lack of understanding of the of the issue and the responsibility of the nurse.
When one is a nurse with an accent, it is his/her responsibility to ensure that he/she is understood. It is NOT the responsibility of the patient to make sure that the nurse communicates properly with him/her, particularly when the patient is a child. To put the burden of communication on the patient under the circumstances that the OP described is wrong.
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I did not think I should check their BP and get them to a safe position
GM2RN
1,850 Posts
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that does happen, and it shouldn't.