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| Recruitment and Retention Monthly |
| December 2005 |
| Remove the intermediary: Bilingual nurses allow communication between caregiver and patient |
| The American public is increasingly diverse, and healthcare providers are searching for ways to communicate with patients who speak little or no English. Many healthcare facilities rely on translators--including ones available through phone or video services--to communicate with patients who do not speak English. However, many facilities are forced to rely on the patient’s family members to communicate. Such situations are fraught with difficulties, including the problems of translating unfamiliar, complicated medical terminology and the emotional reticence of telling a family member that the patient is seriously ill. These complications are magnified if the translator is a child, as is frequently the case in states with large numbers of immigrants (e.g., California). |
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