I think the US needs to screen foreign nurses better in general. They need to have a clinically based English test. Patients do have the right to understand their health care provider.
If YOU can't speak passable, understandable English then you are responsible for fixing that.
Agreed
You know that. You also know we aren't talking about an Aussie accent which usually IS understandable. We are talking very thick accents.
My point is, who decides which accents are understandable? Society as a whole? Each patient? As mentioned, I don't think I have a difficult to understand accent, but it IS different to the locals, and some people don't understand me. If I'm speaking perfectly clear English, and a small % can't understand me, then I am not going to go get speech therapy to fit in.
Facetious maybe, but people really need to differentiate between those with "poor english" and those with "foreign accents".
I have had students who had passed the English tests and they could not understand about 50% of what I was saying. They didn't pass. But my point the test is suppose to reflect English fluency. I was afraid if I said "fire" they would not understand.
Accents are a different issues. Comprehension in another. Now that Medicare is tracking that patient satisfaction I wonder how eager that administrators will be to use foreign nurses as a solution for staffing.
This is not an issue of the foreign education it is communication. I think doctors have it right, now all doctors have to go through a comprehensive evaluation which requires a patient assessment with video taping. That would reduce this issue.
My point is, who decides which accents are understandable? Society as a whole? Each patient? As mentioned, I don't think I have a difficult to understand accent, but it IS different to the locals, and some people don't understand me. If I'm speaking perfectly clear English, and a small % can't understand me, then I am not going to go get speech therapy to fit in.
Facetious maybe, but people really need to differentiate between those with "poor english" and those with "foreign accents".
And those who speak American, or Texan, or Bostonian. And we never know what those Californians are saying.I will admit my English is poorly. But my Texican is very good.
And those who speak American, or Texan, or Bostonian. And we never know what those Californians are saying.I will admit my English is poorly. But my Texican is very good.
I trully dont see the problem that is being discussed here.How many patient REALLY do complain about their nurses accent,majority are just happy to see the person in scrubs...the patients are usually scared to say anything because they are at vulnerable point in their life....
I'm really surprise that people on this board seems to fail to realize it.
just because a person has an accent does not mean they do not speak english well , we really need to be more tolerant and appreciate the the different places theses nurses come from.
I trully dont see the problem that is being discussed here.How many patient REALLY do complain about their nurses accent,majority are just happy to see the person in scrubs...the patients are usually scared to say anything because they are at vulnerable point in their life....
I'm really surprise that people on this board seems to fail to realize it.
Many of us are working people and have worked for many years, so please don't discount our experience.
Where I work patients need more than to see a person in scrubs. They bitterly complain about a lot of things,(even in their vulnerable state - as a charge nurse I get to listen to them, so while they may not complain at the time because they feel vulnerable, they do compalin about things, trust me), communication style of the nurses being one of them. Proper communication can go a long way.
Have you studied "therapeutic communication" in school yet? Making your patient understand you, that you care, that you are listening, and that you're communcating what you are doing, what is going to happen to them, the plan of care, etc. is very very important to patients in my experience.
Having someone just show up in scrubs means little to them if they don't like the person in them or have confidence in their skills.
Many of us are working people and have worked for many years, so please don't discount our experience.
Where I work patients need more than to see a person in scrubs. They bitterly complain about a lot of things,(even in their vulnerable state - as a charge nurse I get to listen to them, so while they may not complain at the time because they feel vulnerable, they do compalin about things, trust me), communication style of the nurses being one of them. Proper communication can go a long way.
Have you studied "therapeutic communication" in school yet? Making your patient understand you, that you care, that you are listening, and that you're communcating what you are doing, what is going to happen to them, the plan of care, etc. is very very important to patients in my experience.
Having someone just show up in scrubs means little to them if they don't like the person in them or have confidence in their skills.
You brought up a very good point.Patients generally tend to complain...about small and big things,so I guess we just have to learn to accept it.
You brought up a very good point.Patients generally tend to complain...about small and big things,so I guess we just have to learn to accept it.
The main point being that a little preventative measures, expert care and communication will go a long way in stopping the complaints in the first place. Sadly some complaints I hear are justified.
But yes, people are going to complain no matter how good we are. However, no need to surrender either.
OK seriously - a patient has the right to clear, concise communication to be properly educated on their condition and plan of treatment. If they cannot understand a nurse for whatever reason then they deserve a different nurse. Period. It is paramount that our patients understand what is going on with them. Many of them are non compliant anyway and not understanding their nurse because the accent is too thick to even understand when they're being told to pee in a urinal - that's not OK and it's just another reason for them not to follow through with their treatment plan.
If you are a nurse with a thick accent, then it needs to be tamed down in some way - Diction classes maybe? If I went and worked as a nurse in China or some such country, you bet your behind that I better be able to clearly speak the language and communicate with the patient.
just because a person has an accent does not mean they do not speak english well , we really need to be more tolerant and appreciate the the different places theses nurses come from.
I worked in an ER with an MD that had a "thick accent" and was difficult to understand. We had a patient that was being admitted for new onset seizures and he suddenly began to seize. The MD started yelling "Volume! Volume! Give him Volume right now!" and our new ER nurse promptly reached over and ran the IV wide open....as I ran to get what she really wanted--VALIUM!
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Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN
3,181 Posts
I think the US needs to screen foreign nurses better in general. They need to have a clinically based English test. Patients do have the right to understand their health care provider.