ah, well, so much for the art of small talk.:chuckle
(i stink at it, too)
leslie
I love small talk, the smaller the better and the more of it also. I can keep small talk going on forever and ever and actually make it seem interesting and observant, Like I like your Nike Golf Hat, whats your handicap. etc etc etc
I love small talk, the smaller the better and the more of it also. I can keep small talk going on forever and ever and actually make it seem interesting and observant, Like I like your Nike Golf Hat, whats your handicap. etc etc etc
God bless you, iam46.
i really admire people who have the gift of gab...
and avoid parties, social events like the plague, in event i'm forced to talk to someone.
pts have the inherent right to understand everything that is being communicated to them about their medical care.
whether it is r/t an accent or an md not using layman's terms, pts should understand what is being said to them.
our shortage is not their problem.
leslie
So true. I know when I am in the patient role, I want to be able to understand my providers and I want to feel confident that we are all on the same page. Words mean different things in different languages, so i feel it is a valid concern. It does not mean anything bad or offensive.
In personal communication I find accents delightful, but in professional communication the onus is on the caregiver to be sure that their speech can be understood by the average patient.
To those from other countries, including American nurses working elsewhere, I'd suggest spending time with a local coworker in conversation, requesting that they give you feedback when difficulties arise. I did this with a coworker who was taking English classes at a recent contract, trading English conversation for help with my Spanish. It was great fun when we got to the list of "tongue twisters" her instructor had given her! (I can understand the difficulty as I once had a friend tell me I was the only person he'd ever met who managed to speak Spanish with a "Baltimore" accent - dreadful!)
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.
how very true!
we have this one dr. that has an accent so heavey, no one wants to call him on the phone for anything!
pts complain all the time, only thing is he is the only infectious disease doc so he sees alot of pts.
we can't understand him in person much less on the phone, it is nightmare. he was born in iran, stayed there for 3 years then grew up in spain and later lived in france before coming to the states, so no one completely understands him.
We have a lot of international doctors and nurses at my hospital and it is very challenging at times to understand what a person is saying. I had an intern ring once, he had a very thick accent and spoke way too fast. I calmly told him to repeat what he was saying slowly because I'm having trouble understanding him and he started yelling at me.
I don't care about anyone's nationality but I do expect a person to be able to communicate effectively to me at work. In an emergency situation having a person who cannot understand or be understood is dangerous.
We all have accents,depends on where you are working.That's what i found i since came to Australia.Many Australians have accents,especially some from country town,strong accents with lots of slangs,sometimes it's simply not possible for even those from UK or CA English-spoken country nurses to understand.The good thing is people here are friendly and many of them are very much aware it's a multi-culture place,this could happen.Both sides make an effort for better commnucation instead of just complaining.
If i'm the one constantly being complained at,i would take an English class to improve my accent.
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.
LOL I'm cracking up here because I'm from Texas and get crap about my Texas accent all the time....But, you should have heard me try to communicate with my Grandfather from the Bronx when he was alive....we both just smiled and nodded alot. And Earle - don't you know that everyone from West Texas has the gift of gab??? They never meet a stranger....hehe.
this same doc that i spoke of in another post, well i had hims as a doc when i had salmanella and he came in to see me, he asked you been round chillrens, eaten any, i looked and ask him to repeat and he says the same thing. after about 4 times he finally says, the pig, you ate any! oh i said you mean chitterlings? he says, yeah, yeah i say chillrens you know from the pig !no i said, i don't eat those things!
Iam46yearsold
839 Posts
I love small talk, the smaller the better and the more of it also. I can keep small talk going on forever and ever and actually make it seem interesting and observant, Like I like your Nike Golf Hat, whats your handicap. etc etc etc