I live in Quebec, and here we HAVE to be able to speak both English and French. In order to get your licence you have to either prove that you have your high school French or you have to take an exam in order to get your licence. The exam they use is not totally "fair", as in they ask translation of words like "bumper" as in on a a car which does not relate to nursing really... but living in Quebec you need both languages as you never know what language your patient will spwak.

Leave it to the hospitals to take the responsibility of translating for non-english speaking patients. It sure is helpful to know a second language, but nurses have way too much on their plate to be "required to speak a second language."

It's my understanding that hospitals are required to provide translators, within reason.

I'll just mention my charge nurse/clinical manager came here from Poland. Could not speak English, but eventually learned it. She passed the NCLEX without taking one English course. She is a very good nurse and works very hard. If she can learn English and pass the NCLEX, then others can learn English when the come here.

And Beth is right, hospitals must provide translators.

I'll agree there is nothing wrong with being bilingual. And I'll throw another question out there: What happens when a patient who is bleeding and has a compund fracture and needs surgery can't speak English and a translator can't be found? Just being the "devil's advocate."

I think that American culture should incorporate foreing language as a subject thoughout the entire education system, like learning math. I live in Germany right now, German children learn English as a subject. Most Europeans speak 2 or more languages, so are they more educated than Americans?

Yes it is fusturating to try and provide care to someone that is not speaking the 'offical' country language, but I have been on the other side of the situation, the one that does not speak the countries language.

America is not longer considered a 'melting pot' it is now a 'salad bowl'. Why are so many people opposed to learning another language is it...fear, lazyness, close-mindedness?

To answer tulpin's question regarding why many Americans are opposed to learning another language, I would say that it's not for any of the aforementioned reasons. People learn new languages either out of necessity, cultural exposure, or genuine scholarly interest. It is true that the US is becoming more of a "salad bowl" as opposed to a "melting pot". The world is becoming smaller and Americans are not immune to this either, sooner or later it will become an economic necessity to know at least basic Spanish. This has been true in Europe too - there aren't too many French people rushing to learn Serbian, Greek, or even Dutch for that matter, yet many know English because the market drives it so.

Ok, back to nursing. According to yesterday's article, there seems to be a real growing necessity to hire nurses with foreign language skills. To build on awinhold's question, isn't it inevitable that as nurses come into greater contact with non-English speakers, their foreign language skills will improve as well? If so, wouldn't on the job training represent a relatively affordable way for nurses to learn some basic terms that could be extremely helpful when getting medical information from patients?

Funny story about not speaking your patient's language:

A while back I had a female patient in the MICU who didn't speak English. During the day her daughter was at her bedside and translated for her. We were about to transfer her to a step-down unit but the night nurse (who was male) and the intern (also male) noticed blood in her bedpan and so they started working her up for a GI bleed, which would mean she would have to stay in the MICU.

I called her daughter in the morning and asked if her mom had reached menopause yet. Daughter said no. Then the docs rounded on her and everyone had a good laugh when they realized that her "GI bleed" was merely her period. And needless to say the intern will probably never make that mistake again.

While I believe every CITIZEN of the USA should speak English, we will (hopefully) alwalys have tourists and visiting workers. This includes foreign soldiers here for training (I have trained with both Israeli and Iraqi officers), students, etc., most of whom do not need to learn English to do what they are here for.
Now move to a small rural hospial in either a tourist destination area or corridor, such as where I live, and you are lucky to have 2 or 3 differant language interpreters in a city of 6,000 folks that you can depend on being available in a n emergancy. After having several instances where my minimal knowledge of several languages helped 1) calm down the patient and family, and 2) gain vital information while we looked for an interpreter, I have made it a point to learn all I can for these situations.
Let's drop the "My right" not to learn, and remember why we got into nursing in the first place - to help others. We do not have to be fluent to get adequate information in the most common languages in the area we live in. There are VOLUNTEERS who teach languages for medical professionals in many areas. Convince your employer to use them - it is well worth the cost to do a few inservices a year to gain this knowledge.

Hi, I just joined the site. I myseslf am bilingual, German and English, working on Spanish. I think its an asset to be able to speak more than one language. It makes your day and work so much easier if you are able to understand your patient, or nowadays, your physicians. True some hospitals have a translator hotline, but in general they are costly and hardly ever used. Plus most smaller hospitals can't afford them. On the other hand you might be careful on acting as a translator for your patient. You could be legally liable for translating incorrectly.
I wouldn't look at it as a bad thing, but as making yourself more marketable. The more you know the better the jobs available to you, right?

exactly. it's a good thing to want to learn as much as you can, but some people dont have the desire, and some do. me, personally, i do wish to learn more of a second language, and i know that it would be very helpful, useful, and lucrative if i did, but it seems there's not enough time anymore.

I've been nursing for almost 15 years and worked in middle east. Presently i am here in europe working in a multi cultural country....The Great Britain. I would like to share the system here. Almost all of the hospital in the country provide translator. Just like in the hospital I am working now, we provide translators for almost 30 languages. I speak at least 4 languages and still learning some more, which is a great help in case of emergency.

In my opinion, its up to each one of us if we would like to learn any foreign language. I should say, it is a good idea that everyone that goes to other countries should know how to speak english. What about if you get lost while visiting or strolling in Oxford Street? Quite dangerous isn't it? How will you communicate with people who does'nt understand you? Here in England, plenty of foreigners does not speak english. Luckily, nurses who comes here should pass an english test with a score of 7.0 before they can register to the nursing body.

I think if someone would like to learn another language - that is fine - but it shouldn't be required. We are in America - and the language is English. If I were to go to work in another country, with a different language - I would learn the language before I went - that would be MY responsibility. I feel it is very important for citizens in this country to learn the language if they are to live here. Put the responsibility where it should be. Years ago when imigrants came to this country, they had to learn the language - no one learned their language to communicate with them.

I think knowing a second lanuage is helpful when you are a nurse, but it shouldn't be a requirement. I'm old fashioned. My grandparents came from Europe, and they scolded me when I started picking up words in their native tongue. They said, "To be an American is to speak English. You are American." People who come to our country should be required to learn English as their second lanuage, and not the other way around.

Byedor I don't think you're being fair. The original subject related to an article on how many hospitals were hiring nurses to expedite the patient intake process. While it's obvious that we should not require every nurse or even most nurses to learn a foreign language as a prerequisite for hiring, shouldn't it be an added bonus? Wouldn't hospitals be better off hiring more personnel with foreign language abilities? I think so.

Also, the handout comment is pretty offensive. Many newcomers pay taxes just like everyone else and just like the Italian immigrants (my ancestors) who came here 100 years ago, and the Irish-Americans and the German-Americans were saying the same kinds of things about them. Let's get realistic our economy needs immigration. Without it our workforce will not be large enough to sustain a growing economy.

Many healthcare providers are now enrolling their employees in intensive Spanish courses. What does everyone think of this trend? Would you enroll in such a course if your hospital paid for it?