The ability to read, write, and most importantly, speak, a second language is a skill which is desired in virtually every career. But in healthcare, bilingual and multilingual nurses are a particularly hot commodity.
Obviously, English is the native language of countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, but that doesn’t mean everyone residing is an English speaker. In the UK alone, it's estimated that more than
8% of the population doesn’t speak English as a primary language. Additionally, more than 138,000 people speak no English at all. And those are only the people who can be counted! When factoring in undocumented immigrants that number can almost double.
Although Polish is the most common language after English, there are still many residents and visitors that speak Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic, French, Chinese, Portuguese, sign language, and more.
All of these people will at some point or another need healthcare services. This is where the value of being a bilingual nurse really comes in. Here are a just a few of the many advantages you will have as a nurse that speaks multiple languages:
#1 Potential job opportunities
Think about how many hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare centers surround major cities. There are over
2300 staffed hospitals in the UK – and many of those serve cities with high immigrant populations. Every one of those hospitals needs healthcare providers that can communicate with patients who only speak other languages. This means greatly improved job prospects for you.
#2 The ability to help diverse groups of people
Most people go into nursing because they recognize the fact that they gain great satisfaction in helping others. Being a bilingual nurse gives you the opportunity to help an even more diverse range of patients.
It’s important to remember that even immigrants who do speak some English typically don’t understand medical terms or can't explain their symptoms in a clear manner. If even native English speakers have trouble with medical terminology, imagine how much more stressful and difficult it is for non-native speakers. Imagine how much more valuable you can be to a patient and to the hospital if you can act a go-between to advocate for patients.
In addition to helping diverse groups of people, bilingual and multilingual nurses are
proven to increase the quality of care patients receive. Some of the biggest benefits come from having bilingual nurses available when patients are discharged. This is a critical time when ongoing care plans and follow-up visits are discussed. This directly leads to better outcomes because patients are able to have someone clearly explain what they need to do after they leave the hospital or clinic to continue their recovery.
#3 Providing valuable services to employers
Nurses looking to advance their career who are able to speak more than one language will provide valuable services to future employers. Students pursuing an MSN degree could benefit from learning to speak a second language, thereby enhancing their potential worth to any employer. Additionally, being bilingual can provide a sense of personal fulfillment by allowing an individual to be immersed in a culture that they might not ordinarily encounter. It's a situation in which everyone benefits.
#4 Foreign job prospects
If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling, even if only on mission trips or short travel nursing contracts, being bilingual will open many more doors for you. It will also give you greater opportunities because your training and education will be in higher demand in other non-English speaking countries. Many nurses who volunteer for healthcare mission trips struggle with the language barrier – being fluent in the language of the country where you are performing the mission in will again give you more opportunities to provide excellent care to patients severely in need. In some instances, if you would like to be a guest worker in some countries, nursing is a profession career in demand and open to foreigners. Speaking the local language makes you a natural fit.
#5 Helping ensure data is accurate
In this era of computers and electronic health records, technology and data is a huge concern. While many hospitals and bigger clinics have translation services, smaller offices and hospitals may not have those services at their disposal. Even if they do, however, translation issues can still crop up. Those risks are mitigated when the person collecting the information speaks the native language of the patient. This also has a major positive effect on patient safety.
Our world is becoming more diverse and interconnected by the day. With that in mind, being a bilingual (or even better, multilingual) nurse is a huge advantage. The ability to speak multiple languages makes your nursing skills more valuable and marketable, and helps increase patient outcomes and safety.
If you are a multilingual nurse, let us know what you think in the comments! We would love to hear from you!
