Practice in rural areas with diverse patients creates an additional challenge for nurses because many individuals might not speak English or have a unique cultural background. Consequently, specific interpersonal connection-related skills must be developed by the professionals to deliver healthcare effectively. In working with non-English-speaking patients, nurses need to integrate their para-linguistic and meta-communication abilities into conversations and exercise symbolic and non-verbal strategies (Giddens, 2021). The problems that might occur due to the language barrier can be related to patient education and treatment practices that require their active involvement.
Patient education challenge requires a nurse to interpret the recommendations in various ways and ensure a client understood them. For instance, giving details of the conditions under which the increase of medication dosage is required can be unclear and lead to severe consequences. Furthermore, describing specific symptoms such as changes in blood pressure, nausea, or overall sickness is difficult to perceive by non-English speaking patients (Giddens, 2021). Another issue might occur during treatment because of language barrier, and cultural distinctions might threaten the quality of procedures. Religious or traditional backgrounds of patients influence their perception of physical contact with nursing practitioners, and the need to perform particular actions might be hard to explain (Giger & Haddad, 2021). Nurses can include non-verbal communication, drawing, or translators to solve these problems (Giddens, 2021). They must also warn patients and explain what they will do during physical treatment to avoid conflicts or misunderstandings by using signs and basics of language.
The language barrier and cultural diversity are frequent challenges in nursing; therefore, communicational approaches have been developed to address them. For instance, conversations need to contain basic etiquette, non-aggressive tone, slow speaking, simple formulations, and active listening to make patients feel safe and understood (Giger & Haddad, 2021). Another communicational approach to providing culturally appropriate care is to avoid sensitive topics or interventions. However, if they are inevitable, clarify why they are used and ask the patient’s permission (Giger & Haddad, 2021). Although the language barrier might be an obstacle for explaining the practices, nurses’ willingness to clarify it is a foundation to build trust. Professionals must continue learning about other cultures to improve the quality of their communication with diverse patients.
References
Giddens, J. F. (2021). Concepts for nursing practice (3rd ed.). Elsevier.
Giger, J. N., & Haddad, L. (2021). Transcultural nursing (8th ed.). Mosby.