Lou Portero

Urban Health Today

As linguistic diversity increases in the US, the demand for nurses who speak at least two languages is also rising.Data from the 2020 American Community survey reveals that more than 21% of US residents speak a language other than English at home. As language becomes more diverse in the US, its impact reverberates throughout health care as the bridge to effective communication between patients and healthcare providers becomes threatened.&nbsp;Patients whose first language is not English have a greater likelihood of experiencing health disparities, such as unequal access to care due to language barriers. In addition, nurses who aren&rsquo;t bilingual struggle to provide care and communicate with these patients with limited English proficiency. This language gap often leads to miscommunication, lower quality of care, and decreased patient satisfaction. Having bilingual nurses on staff can help reduce health disparities, enhance patient outcomes, and bridge gaps in communication.According to Georgina Villarreal, MSN, RN, a bilingual nurse with seven years of nursing experience in medical-surgical oncology, telemetry, and travel nursing, a disconnect occurs when healthcare professionals don&rsquo;t speak their patients&rsquo; native language.&ldquo;There have been a lot of occurrences where I&rsquo;ve seen nurses and doctors talk to patients &mdash; not in their native language &mdash; and things get missed,&rdquo; she saidAlthough regulatory agencies require healthcare facilities to provide language services to ensure quality care for all patients, most healthcare organizations do not have enough interpreters to go around. When interpreter services are unavailable,&nbsp; it puts extra strain on bilingual nurses as they may struggle to balance their own workload with requests to interpret for coworkers and other healthcare professionals.There are just not enough bilingual nurses in the hospital,&rdquo; Villarreal said. &ldquo;So being the only bilingual nurse on a unit, I get pulled into every single room to translate.&rdquo;&nbsp;Due to the growing demand for bilingual nurses and limited staffing, it&rsquo;s crucial to find alternative communication strategies with patients who are not fluent in English. Villarreal suggested colleagues employ interpreter resources when available to help patients. She also suggested using simple words or phrases in the patient&rsquo;s language. In addition, strategically assigning the nurse to patients who speak their language can improve communication and workflow.&nbsp;Source: <a href="https://www.nurse.com/blog/demand-bilingual-nurses-their-impact/">Nurses.com</a>

Tamara Thomas

April Christina talks Navigating Endometriosis and Infertility - Q & A

Reproductive Health

Broken Heart Syndrome: High Mortality and No Improvement in Outcomes

Heart Health

Home Laundering of Healthcare Uniforms: Potential Risk for Infection Transmission and Antimicrobial Resistance

Public Health

Latest News

Demand for Bilingual Nurses Rises As Language Diversity Increases

Disparities in Nursing

As linguistic diversity increases in the US, the demand for nurses who speak at least two languages is also rising. ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Contributors & Partners

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Work With Us

Advertising

Career Center

GU Oncology Now

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

DocWire News

MashupMD

Food Allergy Roundtable Discussions

Allergy

Blood Cancers

— Multiple Myeloma

Breast Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Cancer

Diabetes

Gastroenterology

Heart Failure

Heart Disease Prevention

— Alzheimer’s Disease

Neurology

Autoimmune Disease

Infectious Diseases

Obesity

Pediatrics

Sickle Cell Disease

Digital Health

Dermatology

Pulmonology

Video Insights

Workforce News

More

Gynecologic Cancer

Heart Disease in Women

Menopause

Women’s Neurology

Well Woman Today

Roundtables

Podcasts

Conferences

Viewpoints

Subscribe