During the fall semmester I began working at a hospital in downtown Columbus. As a nurses aid, I am caring directly for patients along with all other members of their healthcare team. After only working for a short period of time I noticed the lack of recourses available to those whose first language is not English. This creates a communication barrier between not only the physician and the patient, but the entire health team and the patient. Hospitals are required to have contract interpreters that are usually called on the spot if a conversation is needed to be translated (Eldred 2018). For others, like those who use sign language, an interpreter is called upon and they are required to come to the hospital. The time it takes for them to arrive could be critical to the patients health if not taken seriously. Hospitals also lack translation when it comes to the television, information pamphlets, and menu’s. With that being said, if a patient can speak English but not read it, another barrier is created. These barriers need to be taken seriously since our nation does not only speak English.
As diversity in Columbus has steadily increased, our efforts to promote inclusion within the health care system has not. There is a large portion of our population that does not speak English “very well” . The graph from The Demographic Statistical Atlas below depicts the comparison between the percent of United States and the state of Ohio’s population who do not speak English in their homes.
With immigration increasing, the percentage of non-English speaking Americans is also bound to increase. With a lack of translators/recourses within a hospital the quality of care will decreases as well. It was documented that 97% of physicians see at least one patient who does not understand English (Eldred 2018). Mara Youdelman who is an attorney at the National Health Law Program says “The reality is, if you can’t communicate with a patient, you can’t provide care,” and I couldn’t agree with this statement more. It is important to me as current health care provider and aspiring physician to be able to care for all my patients equally. With that being said, it is important to acknowledge the injustice within our healthcare system immediately so going forward as Americans we can provide uniform healthcare for all civilians.
Works Cited
Eldred, Sheila Mulrooney. “With Scarce Access To Interpreters, Immigrants Struggle To Understand Doctors’ Orders.” NPR, NPR, 15 Aug. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/15/638913165/with-scarce-access-to-medical-interpreters-immigrant-patients-struggle-to-unders.
“Languages in Ohio (State).” The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States – Statistical Atlas, statisticalatlas.com/state/Ohio/Languages.
Peled, Yael. “Language Barriers and Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare Settings.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 9 May 2018, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bioe.12435?casa_token=c3oPjyoMw14AAAAA:Ka1mKPWGl_pI7Gouqq3o_ONGvkELR9blkUvCRh-qq0XskdNq9XeqsMcawvBrBrVS0TMEBx0DDFg9RA.
This is a powerful post because it can create a huge impact in the long run for medical care and the language barrier that follows. I have seen and dealt with this before because my grandparents only speaking Spanish and I would translate for them to English and there was no Spanish translator on the side to be able to come in and work with them. This would be dangerous for the patient who needs immediate assistance and care but can not communicate because of the language barrier. I have thought about this before and how a hospital should be very diverse in every aspect because it is efficient for the patient and decreases the risk or near-death experience for a patient in need. It would also not create an awkward field between the patient and the doctors/ nurses who try to help. Finally, through the years within the medical field, I have witness area of becoming more diverse through their books, translators, and every way that they can try to help and make the patient feel comfortable throughout the medical process.