Language is a fundamental aspect of culture; language barriers present major obstacles (Friedman, Bowden & Jones, 2003). A few weeks ago I was actually presented with an obstacle of a language barrier. My patient was Philippine and understood and spoke very little English. I had received her for her day of surgery alone and was told that her daughter who was an ICU nurse usually helped translate but could not be present due to her job schedule. I knew I was going to need help other than her family members if I was going to ever properly assess and address and explain her consent for surgery. I had two options, a phone-based interpretation service or two co-workers that were very fluent Philippine expert nurses that had been certified as medical interpreters. I felt confident my co-workers would help me better address this barrier and help me form some kind of rapport with my patient. For a moment there, to be honest, I felt hopeless and useless, but I did not let that get in my way of forming some kind of rapport with my patient. All my questions for my assessment were addressed and her preoperative testing went smoothly and verbalized understanding. While we waited for her to go into surgery she was able to communicate with me her basic needs that I was happy I could assist her
Language is a fundamental aspect of culture; language barriers present major obstacles (Friedman, Bowden & Jones, 2003). A few weeks ago I was actually presented with an obstacle of a language barrier. My patient was Philippine and understood and spoke very little English. I had received her for her day of surgery alone and was told that her daughter who was an ICU nurse usually helped translate but could not be present due to her job schedule. I knew I was going to need help other than her family members if I was going to ever properly assess and address and explain her consent for surgery. I had two options, a phone-based interpretation service or two co-workers that were very fluent Philippine expert nurses that had been certified as medical interpreters. I felt confident my co-workers would help me better address this barrier and help me form some kind of rapport with my patient. For a moment there, to be honest, I felt hopeless and useless, but I did not let that get in my way of forming some kind of rapport with my patient. All my questions for my assessment were addressed and her preoperative testing went smoothly and verbalized understanding. While we waited for her to go into surgery she was able to communicate with me her basic needs that I was happy I could assist her