we have more doctors who are foreign born than nurses, usually if you are on a floor where they frequently have patients you learn what they are saying and can relay this to a patient
too many times they will learn to speak to the minimal skill...then they no longer attempt to improve
rudeness is not to be tolerated but communications is a large part of nursing
I worry more about their writing rather than their speech,it is really hard to read those orders.
this has absolutely nothing to do with a bias against foreigners.
as another poster pointed out, effective and therapeutic communication is HUGE in nursing and the medical fields.
we lost many foreign students in nsg school, r/t communication barriers...
and i was heartsick, since i felt many of them would have made wonderful nurses, if only they could have understood or spoken english better.
leslie
I think Foreign nurses and doctors are wonderful ! However, if you can't speak or understand english, how can you be a good nurse ? Nursing involves communication 99 % of the time. Whether its therapeutic or communication with in the health care disciplinary team. With out effective communication patients would not have proper care, and nurses would not be able to implement a nursing plan of care. The health care system would be in total chaos.
I believe everyone should have to chance to become a nurse, whether they have an accent or not. However, when it comes to communication, nurses must be understood clearly by patients, and other colleagues.
I also believe it is a valid concern. Even some of my nursing instructors had such thick accents that I would have to ask them to repeat themselves several times in order to get the information I needed to do what was expected. Some of them would get very irritated at having to repeat themselves. As a patient, who's life may depend on receiving and understanding information/teaching, I would not want to struggle to get the information I need. I agree that it presents an even bigger problem with older people or those with hearing impairment. The nursing shortage (which is limited to some areas, not nationwide) should not mean that any warm body will do, regardless of their ability to provide good care, or to communicate effectively with patients and other staff.
Yang
Well said. This is one stressor that patients don't need.
I'm with all of those who feel it is a valid concern and can be an additional stressor for patients. If I couldn't understand what my doctor or nurse was saying I would ask for another one as well. It's imperative in a medical situation to fully understand the information given you.
Ugh, I had a patient once who was telling me who his doctor was. I asked for his name and he said "you know, that dark one?" Grrr, wanted to smack him! I said, you mean Dr. Chandra? Not even that hard to pronounce!
That being said, I work with several residents who have accents from all over the world. The worst one is this Russian guy. I can't even tell what he says about 50% of the time, and I have to triple check his telephone orders to make sure I got them right. That is annoying and dangerous.
I love working with the majority of foreign residents, but really, people should attempt to get better with their English if the patients, nurses, ancillary staff, etc, can't understand them and it could potentially cause someone to receive a wrong medication or treatment.
First off let me say that I am native born and bred. I pride myself in my communication skills. My speech is far more clear than our highly illustrious soon to be ex president. While I can be rather eloquent, people do not always understand me either, some because of my sense of being who I am, and some because in my mind I never learned English. I speak a dialect, Known as West By God Texan. Now Billy Bob and Joe Bob, and Billy Jack, and Sue Lynne all know what I am saying. But Donna from Boston, communicating between the two of us is rather amusing to listen to. Patience and tolerance of all is something we should all strive for.
I've had one of our doctors get MAD at me on the phone when I asked him several times to repeat what he'd said because I couldn't understand one word of it. I gave the phone to my charge nurse and SHE couldn't understand him either. He ended up coming in and writing orders and danged if they didn't need clarification!!
Clear communication, both spoken and written, is imperative to good healthcare. If someone lacks the skills to make themselves clearly understood that is a problem that needs to be addressed!!
Place me squarely in the camp that says if you're coming to the good old US of A to work, please please please learn to speak the language well!! Not doing so is as ludicrous as me thinking I'll go to France to work knowing I don't speak a word of French and expect them to accomodate me.
To the OP: patients have a RIGHT to complain when they don't understand their healtcare workers!!
I agree with the others. If you can't be understood by your health care worker or they can't understand you, then you have a right to complain. If someone is complaining just because someone has an accent but they can be understood just fine, then that is wrong.
This same problem happened on shift last night, where a doctor couldn't understand a foreign nurse. She wasn't offended, and told him that even I didn't understand her when I first met her! But she uses very simple language and speaks clearly with pts and there's been no issues raised by pts.
But I rung the telecommunication's company the other day, and they've outsourced their tech support guys - they're in the States, despite both speaking english I had no idea what the heck he was saying! He didn't help my opinion of him when he asked "So, you got trees there?" I told him we had heaps and there's a big one in my front yard... his reply "wow.... trees! Neat!" Are trees extinct over there or something?
He didn't help my opinion of him when he asked "So, you got trees there?" I told him we had heaps and there's a big one in my front yard... his reply "wow.... trees! Neat!" Are trees extinct over there or something?
ah, well, so much for the art of small talk.:chuckle
lovehospital
654 Posts
I worry more about their writing rather than their speech,it is really hard to read those orders.