understandable english

Silverdragon102, BSN · Aug 25, 2007

Sorry but I think this could be aimed at anyone. Dialects change from area to area and if you have someone you are having difficulty understanding what are you hoping to gain by posting on here and not talking to them about it. I speak english through and through, UK born and bred but even I have problems understanding the different accents that I find in this wonderful UK Isle.

Foreign nurses who have gone though the process generally have to pass an english exam if their studies wasn't based in english and would be nice if you showed them a bit of compassion and helped them to improve.

Just my thoughts on this subject

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2007

Deaf old people in Florida? Who'd'a thunk!

TazziRN, RN · Aug 25, 2007

I thought this was another thread about non-English speakers, but am I understanding right......OP wants people who speak English to speak it so she can understand it? She wants people who live in FL to change how they speak so that people who move to FL can understand it?

Are you kidding me??????

nurz2be · Aug 25, 2007

I thought this was another thread about non-English speakers, but am I understanding right......OP wants people who speak English to speak it so she can understand it? She wants people who live in FL to change how they speak so that people who move to FL can understand it?
Are you kidding me??????

That is basically what I got out of this post as well. Florida is a melting pot of people, some of whom tend to not speak American-English as a first language, who speak with all kinds of dialects. There are dozens of dialects all of the US, not to account for ALL the different ethnicities. People who live in FL, me included, KNOW when you move here you are going to have to make personal adjustments. I do all the time, I have a HUGE southern accent. I accommodate people by repeating myself if necessary, as I am sure the people mentioned in this post do as well.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reesern63, RN · Aug 25, 2007

I remember going to Birmingham once and being absolutely confounded by the accent the locals had. I'm a lifelong Yankee, so I spent a good deal of the time squinting at what people were saying, as if that would help me understand.

I do understand the OP to a point. I get frustrated when I call tech. support for my computer and get someone who supposedly speaks English but who really is incomprehensible. And in healthcare, it's crucial that communication be clear. It's one thing if my laptop isn't behaving, quite another if a patient doesn't understand his medication regimen.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2007

/hijack

to original OP the word is annunciate.(not enunciate).... sorry pet peeve about spelling...

Um, to annunciate is to proclaim. To enunciate is to pronounce something clearly.

The OP is correct.

/end hijack

rn/writer, RN · Aug 25, 2007

I thought this was another thread about non-English speakers, but am I understanding right......OP wants people who speak English to speak it so she can understand it? She wants people who live in FL to change how they speak so that people who move to FL can understand it?
Are you kidding me??????

I get complaints on a DAILY basis from my patients that they can not understand word one from some of the nurses.

If the patients are complaining, that's a problem. The OP did say that even she, who is not hard of hearing (as opposed to the some of the patients who are), can't always understand what is being said. But the patients are the ones who matter most in this equation.

The staff needs to accommodate the needs of the patients, not the other way around. This doesn't have to be about a particular language. Or the people speaking it. If the patients are having a hard time understanding what is being said to them and simple measures like slowing down, speaking louder and avoiding slang will help, surely these are reasonable requests.

According to JCAHO, the burden is on us as healthcare providers to make certain we can communicate with those in our care. That doesn't only mean providing interpreters and using a language line. Sometimes it means being sensitive to whatever barriers exist and trying to work around them without taking offense for being asked to do so.

TazziRN, RN · Aug 25, 2007

Miranda, what you're saying makes sense, but then this goes back to immigrants who don't speak English. If they, when they come here, should learn English rather than Americans learning Spanish to accommodate, then why should native Floridians have to change how they have spoken all their lives to accommodate people who have moved to Florida? I understand about the slang, you're right, but the dialect/accent is another story.

rn/writer, RN · Aug 25, 2007

Miranda, what you're saying makes sense, but then this goes back to immigrants who don't speak English. If they, when they come here, should learn English rather than Americans learning Spanish to accommodate, then why should native Floridians have to change how they have spoken all their lives to accommodate people who have moved to Florida? I understand about the slang, you're right, but the dialect/accent is another story.

Point well taken if we're discussing a store or a restaurant. When it's a healthcare setting, the providers have a greater burden, and we run into this all the time.

I am a native English speaker, yet in my role as a nurse, I have to find a way to communicate with people who come here from all over the world. I didn't ask them to come here, but they are here nonetheless. And when they are my patients, the burden is on me to connect with them, fair or not.

Besides, how can we assume that the Spanish speakers are native and the elderly Floridians are not? Anyway, it's a moot point to decide who is more responsible to bend based on length of residency when the healthcare aspect tips the scales toward the providers no matter what.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2007

that is basically what i got out of this post as well. florida is a melting pot of people, some of whom tend to not speak american-english as a first language, who speak with all kinds of dialects. there are dozens of dialects all of the us, not to account for all the different ethnicities. people who live in fl, me included, know when you move here you are going to have to make personal adjustments. i do all the time, i have a huge southern accent. i accommodate people by repeating myself if necessary, as i am sure the people mentioned in this post do as well.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to original op the word is annunciate.(not enunciate).... sorry pet peeve about spelling...

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/e/e0167000.html

enunciate definition

v. e-nun-ci-at-ed, e-nun-ci-at-ing, e-nun-ci-ates

v.tr. 1. to pronounce; articulate.

2. to state or set forth precisely or systematically: [color=#226699]enunciate a doctrine.

3. to announce; proclaim.

v.intr. to pronounce words; speak aloud.

kanzi monkey · Aug 25, 2007

"And for heavens sake, wear a watch and learn what it means to come to work on time"

I am just wondering what this has to do with the OP's original point. Is this somehow related to nurses with accents?

I'm playing dumb here. Certainly I recognize that different cultures--within our great multicultural society--perceive/manage time differently. There is no judgment in this, it's just one of the many beautiful ways we as humans have grown to be different.

Obviously we in healthcare deal with bridging huge divides in culture and communication everyday--and that's not always easy. But there are ways of addressing these issues that are both tactful and respectful. Making a blanket statement that basically is equivalent to "people with accents"="not coming to work on time" is neither tactful nor respectful.