My aunt has been a patient now at a *major*, very well known medical center for 2 weeks now. She had a major right-sided CVA after ovarian cancer surgery. She's had some great RNs and some bad RNs, pretty standard I would think. I have noticed a very disturbing trend though and I wanted your take on it. Please don't call me racist or biased or whatever until you hear me out.
For YEARS as an RN I have been required to attend conferences to make sure I was providing culturally competent care to our families. If the family was middle eastern, I had to learn it was traditional to address the male of the family, etc.etc. You get the point.
This hospital has an influx of RNs from India/Phillipines, etc. To say they don't even attempt to provide culturally competent care to a caucasian patient is an understatement to say the least. They walk into the room, avoid eye contact, do not introduce themselves (even though this healthcare system has a hundred thousand dollar program being promoted among staff to introduce yourself, what you are about to do, how long it will take, etc.); ignore family members, mutter under their breath and then talk as they are walking away. They make ZERO attempt to make any sort of connection and OMG...the accents. Are they even required to go through training so they can even be UNDERSTOOD? Try being a stroked out patient who is hard of hearing and trying to decipher all that.
I almost want to put up a sign that says : 1. Look her in the eye. 2. Say your name CLEARLY. 3. Announce your title 4. Tell the patient what you are about to do. ETC.
Is this a problem at your healthcare facility? Before anyone attacks me as being racist and bias, please know that the Caucasian and AA RNs caring for her ALL have looked at her in the eye, introduced themselves, announced what they are going to do and all that jazz. This is very distinctly a cultural thing.
If they really are straight from India/Philippines maybe they are struggling to adapt to a new culture. Things that you may think are rude may not be rude in the context of their culture. And speaking up for an introduction may be difficult for them, especially if they come from a collectivist culture. Give them time.
Don't want to get flamed or anything, but...isn't that a double standard? I just don't think you should be allowed to do the job until you can do all of it correctly. If they are having those kinds of issues, then maybe more training is required before they hit the floor on their own. That is not saying that they should never be allowed, or that there is something wrong with them. Just maybe there needs to be some kind of program during their orientation to address this.
I work with a lot of nurses from other countries (India, China, Phillipines, etc), and I really don't notice the problems described by the OP. In fact, the only time I have any trouble understanding them is if they talk really, really fast for some reason - and I probably wouldn't understand someone who was born here who was speaking that fast, haha! That's why I think maybe those people described by the OP just need a little more training before they start caring for pts on their own. And I guess that would be my .
Ok...while I truly mean no harm or ill will...I'm ready to be flamed. Quite frankly I'm tired of all people no matter where they are from or what they do...who expect an American living and haven't learned to speak English clearly in MY country. Whether they work at McDonalds or the local hospital. Especially the hospitals. If you can't communicate, errors are going to occur; maybe serious ones. I can tell you that the German hospitals will not hire you if you can't speak their language fluently...why should we be expected to do so?! I'm a first generation German immigrant whose parents gave "all" to become Americans and they spoke English exceptionally well because "purposed" to. I apologize but I just have very little tolerance anymore for foreigners who expect so much from (us) our country and won't even perfect their speech and then treat us as if we're to blame for it. Go back to school...study...and earn the respect and position, just like the rest of us did. Ok...flame on.
I work with nurses from all over -Philipines (spell?), India, China, "Caucasion"-American, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and all imaginable mixes of these :)
Most if not all are great nurses, very pt care oriented, speak english well, seem very well received by pts. And as co-workers I think we all get a long great; we enjoy the differences and similarities in our cultures which provides for many hours of discussion and laughter --and let me tell you the food is great!
I remember in nursing school thinking to myself, of course I will try my best to provide culturally sensitive care to my pts, and at the same time thinking, but I am an american, I work in america, please don't give me a hard time if my first instinct is to treat you as I would a fellow american! But I mean I'm sure I have my own 'cultural' things that I would/wouldn't want done if I were a pt just based on the part of the country I live in. I've met people from different parts of the country and thought "Wow, I would stick out like a soar thumb if I moved to XYZ location".
One of the things I know I have to watch is talking too loudly to pts. I work in the ICU and a lot of our pt's are sedated and require quite a bit of stimulation just to get them to open their eyes. So I find myself walking into a pt's room who is otherwise fine except for, say, they are post cath and I'm all "HI. MY NAME IS ___ AND I"LL BE YOUR NURSE TODAY. ARE YOU HAVING ANY PAIN?" Have to remember to tone it down a bit. At least they don't all get sternal rubs :)
I was in a hurry and meant to put in a sarcastic smiley if you know what I mean. We are *all* the time hearing what an amazing place this facility is and I gotta tell you....being Magnet is just SO not impressive to me so far.
I was in a hurry and meant to put in a sarcastic smiley if you know what I mean. We are *all* the time hearing what an amazing place this facility is and I gotta tell you....being Magnet is just SO not impressive to me so far.
Nor to anyone who works in a magnet facility. More pressure, higher expectations, higher level of education for the nurses, same lousy ratios and equipment.
Sometimes when White people complain of racism toward them they are told that they are part of the racist establishment that has had power and privilege for so long, therefore they must be racist too.
But, these nurses are probably not racist, but unfamiliar or unpractised in Western cultural customs. Americans of all races would probably be uncomfortable with someone just walking in the room and avoiding eye contact, so the issue is cultural, not ethnic or racial.
You may have misunderstood the first sentence in my post. I was responding to the OP's fear of attack...
...Before anyone attacks me as being racist and bias,...
I didn't mean to convey that I thought the nurses were racist.
. 
SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN
10,263 Posts
Actually, I am going to bet that this hospital is severely under-staffed and it is more a time, over-worked, exhausted issue than it is cultural.
But they are rude, in any society. No one wants a strnager to come in, grumble around them, do intimate things and then leave.