Greetings, Readers! I’m
excited for you to join me on a 6-week adventure exploring the topic of English
as a second language in the healthcare industry. I’m receiving Google alerts on
the following:
·English
as a Second Language healthcare providers
·ESL
in the workplace
·Face-to-face
technology training
·Technology
training ESL
This week the majority
of news has come from English as a Second Language healthcare providers and
face-to-face technology training. Let me tell you what has been most
interesting in this week’s compilations…
Nadya Agrawal writes in How
the Healthcare System Fails People Who Don’t Speak English, that patients
are at risk when they do not speak the same language as their healthcare providers.
The statement seems like common sense but the examples are frightening. "A 2010 study from UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and National Health Law Program found that 35 of 1,373 malpractice claims were connected to lack of adequate language access" (Agrawal, 2019). Five of the cases resulted in patient death.
The
United States is not alone in the patient/caregiver communication dilemma. Several
years ago, Great Britain’s Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, set out to ensure
healthcare providers have more than just rudimentary English skills. The need
came as Great Britain saw a large influx of healthcare workers, which account
for nearly 1/3 of all providers in the country. Lansley called the lack of
English in hospitals “lethal.” Read more about why this issue was brought to
national attention here.
Most of
the other articles I read this week focused on patients who do not speak English.
While the articles were interesting, not many addressed my question, and quest
really, about what English speaking patients do when their healthcare providers
have limited English proficiency. Doctors and hospitals that receive federal
funding (and this includes Medicare payments) must provide translators for
non-English speaking patients but is it reasonable to assume an English-speaking
patient could request a translator if their doctor does not speak English?
There are no formal policies around this but it is common practice for nurses
and other clinicians to help “interpret” the doctor’s words for patients.
Another
article delivered to my inbox this week that really got me thinking was from
Moaz Nair, Language
Requirements Just Good Business for the Private Sector. Language
requirements do make good business sense and let’s face it, healthcare is a
business – not just a big business, a huge business. But what requirements do
we enforce? Should all doctors be only English speaking? Of course not! Nearly
20% of our population does not speak English so multilingual care is needed not
only from doctors but all healthcare providers. Nair writes, “It’s solely for
business reasons that companies require employees to be able to speak a
language that can help them deal with potential clients.” It seems logical
that healthcare must require clinicians to speak a language that can help them
deal with potential patients.
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteMy Mom and sister-in-law are both nurses, and at times have worked in hospital settings, and I have a good friend who works at the Reading hospital. Their experiences with non-English speaking patients are challenging. While the hospital provides translators, many of the incidents are very pressing and need immediate attention. The language barrier creates a dangerous situation between the patient and care provider, and can make it difficult to administer the appropriate treatment.
When I compare this to the K-12 environment, it is rare that the exchange of information would result in such an emergency; however, it definitely creates situations where the educator and learner have difficulty connecting. While I believe employers could require some basic level of L2 proficiency, it would be very difficult to staff enough fluent speakers to avoid miscommunications altogether. This is where some of the technological progress may come into play in the near future. For instance, many healthcare facilities now enter admittance information via digital interface, and I am sure this is to provide a multi-lingual platform, and more universally friendly process for all involved. Perhaps you could share some of the other technologies available to the healthcare industry for alleviating the language barrier in future posts. I found your first post to be thought provoking and interesting. Thank you for sharing, and keep up the great work.
Hi, Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts and sharing the personal touch points you have with the healthcare industry. Yes, electronic forms are being tested in our institution and they will be available in several languages. Not only will this technology save patients time it will alleviate anxiety relating to language barriers. I'm happy to say that our current technology does provide patient education in many languages making it manageable for patients to understand instructions and care required when they leave the hospital or an appointment.
Thanks, again!
Cindy
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteI love reading a new take on ESL topics in your post. Since I work in education my mind is mainly in that world, but language barriers go well beyond the classroom. Healthcare is a field I had not previously thought of and it is very important. I loved that you included both sides of the situation, doctors who can't speak English and patients that can't speak English. Having a medical emergency and not being able to communicate with the medical professionals would be a nightmare for me! I am happy I have never been in that situation and it is smart to think about when traveling abroad. I feel somewhat better that we live in such a technology rich time and could hopefully rely on my phone to help with translations.
Great job including links into your post. That is something I want to try for my next post!
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteI frequently witness young children translating for their parents in all sorts of places including the doctor's office. It's sad that we have to place such a big responsibility on them.
Leslie