Understanding accents as a new nurse

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I am a new nurse and need some advice for an awkward situation.

I work on a unit with a high population of predominantly Asian nurses and aides. Most of them are very nice and helpful to me as a new nurse. But, sometimes I have hard time understanding some of the things they are saying which has caused me to miss some things in report because I strain so much to make out the words they just said, I miss the new content.

The first preceptor I sat with had a very heavy accent and I missed some of the things she would teach me and I didn't pick up the info until I got into training with a nurse on another shift with a clear English dialect. I was too embarrassed to tell the first preceptor to keep repeating herself as I didn't want to insult her. Because of the lack of being able to pick up all of things she told me, I'm sure I left a bad impression on her as she gets irritated that I didn't remember things, so I feel like an idiot.

I also have difficulty picking out what some doctors are saying over the phone and they will get really annoyed having to repeat certain drug names and dosages over again..sometimes 2 or 3 times. I feel so stupid. Please tell me this gets easier over time.

Is there a tactful way to say I don't understand their accent without sounding racist? Or do you have any pointers in understanding them. I feel very lost in this world of multiculturalism as a 'very white' person :)

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There is nothing wrong with asking someone to repeat themselves to receive clarity of the message. Hope it gets better.

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They know they have a strong accent and might be hard to understand sometimes.Just politely tell them to speak a little slower . Example, hey Nurse/Doc/Prof/Mr, I am new to you accent, can you speak a little slower till am more familiar with it. If you missed something stop him/her and repeat what you think you heard they will tell you yes or repeat with more clarity . Eventually the accent issue will be no more

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Imagine what would happen to you if something happened to your patient because you didn't understand something from report and you were too timid to get it clarified.

Now do you see why you have to get it clarified? It's not about you or the other nurse, it's about the patient.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Is there a tactful way to say I don't understand their accent without sounding racist?
Based on feedback from others and the accrual of life experiences, these nurses and healthcare providers already know they speak English with heavy foreign accents. Therefore, they should not become offended if you respectfully say, "I am having trouble understanding what you are saying."

Although I (and the 6+ previous generations of my family) was born in the US and have never been abroad, I know I speak with a slight accent because people regularly ask where I come from. When people say, "Did you know you have an accent?", I want to respond, "Yes, you're the 1,000th person who's told me."

We all have accents (Midwestern accents, New England dialects, Texas drawl, Southern accents, California "Valley Girl" speak, Appalachian dialects, etc) but I am in a part of the country where lifelong residents of this state usually don't encounter people who sound like me. To me, their speech is heavily accented. To them, I am the one with the accent.

So, as a person who speaks differently than the majority of people in the geographic area where I live, it is my responsibility to communicate what I want to say in a clear and effectual manner. Foreign-born people with heavily accented people also shoulder the responsibility to ensure their verbal communication is understood.

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

I agree with previous posters, these individuals know they have accents. They shouldn't be frustrated if you ask them to repeat themselves, if they are, then their are other reasons aiding to their frustration. I've been working in a call center position for over a year now so I'm used to a lot of different accents, but when doctors call in speaking fast or with a very strong accent I do have to ask them to repeat themselves or to clarify, and it's clear that their upset about whatever is going on with a patient, not me asking them to repeat themselves.

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just to cover what you can do, get your hearing checked.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

After you have ascertained that you hear just fine, try asking the docs/nurses to spell the medication or other critical elements in the conversation.

Good luck.

By the way, difficulty understanding heavily accented English is not racist. Thinking that the person is stupid because you can't understand their accent would be racist.

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Specializes in CVICU.
Based on feedback from others and the accrual of life experiences, these nurses and healthcare providers already know they speak English with heavy foreign accents. Therefore, they should not become offended if you respectfully say, "I am having trouble understanding what you are saying."

Although I (and the 6+ previous generations of my family) was born in the US and have never been abroad, I know I speak with a slight accent because people regularly ask where I come from. When people say, "Did you know you have an accent?", I want to respond, "Yes, you're the 1,000th person who's told me."

We all have accents (Midwestern accents, New England dialects, Texas drawl, Southern accents, California "Valley Girl" speak, Appalachian dialects, etc) but I am in a part of the country where lifelong residents of this state usually don't encounter people who sound like me. To me, their speech is heavily accented. To them, I am the one with the accent.

So, as a person who speaks differently than the majority of people in the geographic area where I live, it is my responsibility to communicate what I want to say in a clear and effectual manner. Foreign-born people with heavily accented people also shoulder the responsibility to ensure their verbal communication is understood.

Good luck to you.

I agree, the people who have heavy accents know they have heavy accents and I'm sure people make them repeat themselves a lot. In the medical field precise communication is mandatory especially when it comes to patient handoffs. It is not racist to ask someone to repeat themselves if you can not understand them. There are classes that people can take to help with accents if being easily understood is a priority.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

It's a very serious patient safety issue. Many years (1980's) ago, I was tangentially involved in a horrible incident with a terrible outcome.... due to mis-communication in a CVICU. The physicians & nurses directly involved were from very different countries of origin and spoke English with very heavy accents. As a result of the root cause analysis, that organization prohibited non-native English speaking nurses from receiving telephone orders. I never found out if there were similar corrective actions on the physician side as well.

PPs have all offered wonderful suggestions about dealing with coworkers & hopefully one of these will work. At any rate, sometimes we just have to be courageous and take a stand because it's the right thing to do... ensuring our patient's safety takes precedence over anyone's hurt feelings.

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I have had situations like this too. I am glad you brought this up.

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Thank you everyone for the advice. I will just have to irritate some people to get what I need. :)

And yes, my hearing is fine. Just the accent barrier is the issue.

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