Is there an American Doctor in the house?

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Sina said:
My parents have accents and I get so angry when people say they can’t understand them. Honestly, if you take the time to LISTEN carefully and have some patience with them, there usually isn’t a problem. So many people dismiss others because of their accents. I don’t think I have ever had a problem understanding an accent.
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Usually I don’t have a problem with this because I am patient and do listen carefully. However, I think sometimes when you are in a medical situtation where there is some urgency or some sense of vulnerability or fear, I think we might not be at our best to be so perfectly patient. We might be in a situation where having to put forth that extra effort might be more than we are capable of. So, try to be patient with people who aren’t as patient as they need to be to understand a heavy accent.

I do also think it easier to find that patience and ability to understand when you are talking to someone that you have a regular relationship with. My kids’ pediatrician had a very strong Chinese accent and it never bothered me. I always listened carefully and was able to understand him. When I had the Korean radiology technician last month though, she was a woman whom I had never talked to and I was in a situation where I was scared. Her accent was really more than I could deal with that day.

So, while it would be nice if people were able to carefully listen to the accents of others and be courteous and patient, I think it is also important to understand why not everyone is able to achieve that level of patience every time.
 
Ok, fair enough. So what is the solution? Language training I suppose?
 
My PMD is a lovely young Indian woman and I find I prefer her to American doctors. Her cultural and religious background make her endlessly supportive of my chastity. I’ve often been met with raised eyebrows and skepticism from jaded American doctors. My midwife is American and Jewish and again I find that a strong religious background (any religion really) makes them very supportive of me. As an unmarried girl its good to have support somewhere. 🙂
 
I honestly don’t care if my doctor is foreign born or not, as long as they can save my life and we can understand each other. The accent thing doesn’t really bother me because I’m used to a variety of accents (Irish, English, Scottish, Italian, Portuguese, Hispanic/Latin, etc.) and I’m studying two languages, both of which have vastly different dialects depending on which country you visit, so I’ve had to get used to different accents. As for doctors coming here to work, I don’t mind as long as they can communicate and they save my life. I am going into premed myself and dream of working abroad so I can’t really complain since these doctors are doing the same.
 
dulcissima said:
I understand what you are saying, although it usually doesn’t bother me. I did have a bad experience last month though when I had to have a repeat mammogram due to it looking like there was something suspicious on my previous set of films. The second mammogram technician was Korean and spoke very little English. She really was trying to do more than her job though, telling me what was on the first set, scolding me for how long it took me to come back for the second set (I had taken the first available appointmet). When you couple that with the fact that I almost couldn’t understand her and she didn’t understand the questions that I was asking her, it made for a very scary and upsetting visit until I could hear from a doctor that everything was OK.

I think it is normal that when you have a bad experience that you want to vent a little bit. That doesn’t necessarily make you xenophobic, just human.

Even though I have had some very positive experiences with Asian doctors, that day I was quite put out dealing with someone who spoke little English. I’m sure anyone who talked to me that day would have thought I was a total racist.

Give it a couple of days, and I’m sure this won’t be bothering you nearly so much.
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My doctor is from foreign ancestry, but he’s a great doctor (and a great Catholic, too, by the way). I don’t think the issue is “foreigners”, but an ability to clearly communicate. If the doctor can’t clearly read, write, and speak English, he should be in a different profession. Clarity of communication should be required just as much as the medical degree.
 
Some are here on student visas, some are either already naturalized citizens or planning to become such, some plan to go home to practice, and so forth. Many members of my family teach and/or research in medical schools, and there are loads of students and interns from all over the world (yes, especially India and China). I remember my father going pretty nuts for a while trying to understand all the accents, and hooboy, sometimes the writing on the tests he had to grade! 😉 But, over the years he’s adapted pretty well.

I think it was a little easier for his little brother and his wife (both profs also), since they’re younger and less set in their ways. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with foreign-origin doctors myself. I wouldn’t worry too much if you have a hard time with someone’s accent – if you didn’t quite catch what they said, just ask! It isn’t as though American-born doctors always make total sense to a layman or patient either. 😛
 
Writer said:
My doctor is from foreign ancestry, but he’s a great doctor (and a great Catholic, too, by the way). I don’t think the issue is “foreigners”, but an ability to clearly communicate. If the doctor can’t clearly read, write, and speak English, he should be in a different profession. Clarity of communication should be required just as much as the medical degree.
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This is the real problem. And, an accent is one thing; copping an attitude, when a patient says (politely as possible), “Pardon me, I didn’t understand you” is another. I had one doctor whose accent was very thick, & when I asked him to please repeat what he said, he stormed out, & told everyone who would listen that I had:eek: called him a [racial epithet deleted]!!
Ummmmm…When did, “I’m sorry, I have a slight hearing loss, could you repeat that?”🤷 turn into a racial epithet???
 
Sina said:
Ok, fair enough. So what is the solution? Language training I suppose?
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For me, personally, my solution is that I will not use them. If I have a choice, I will not.

Just like when I finally get a real person on the phone and they have a heavy accent and I’m really trying to explain something to them, I’m being patient, they are being patient but the situation is not getting resolved…I ask to speak to someone who can understand me…

so, likewise with doctors.

I don’t mean to come off as a you know what, this is just my opinon. It’s really hard when you know that this doctor is an excellent doctor, has a good reputation, but your grandfather is just beside himself because he can’t understand and I have to tell him EVERYTHING…it’s just not worth it.

And even if it were an american doctor who talked like he/or she had a mouth full of something and still couldn’t understand them, I would change doctors.

Too many doctors out there to not be satisfied customer! 🤷
 
Am I an American doctor?

I am a fourth year medical student. I moved to this country when I was 10 years old. I speak the language very well although I do still have a slight accent on some words. I have my citizenship and I am married to a Irish/German American born future doctor.

Hmmm, am I American enough?

I do agree that citizens should get first choice at a medical school and residency training program. It is just the fair thing to do. Then if there are spots open, then by all means hire foreign physicians. Actually, most residency programs that I have looked into, this is their policy.
 
I am happy to see any doctor who is qualifed and a little courtesy and listening skills would be nice as well.

I saw a doctor (my own is on mat leave) a few weeks ago, with a problem I had researched and know a considerable amount about. She was a terrible listener, and treated me like a self-diagnosing idiot! A problem that i had been worrying about, and had put off confronting, and had finally gotten my act together to investigate it medically, only to be treated like a fool.

Then today, I went to a specialist she referred me to. I waited one hour past my appointment time (was there a courteous 10 minutes early to fill out forms), then decided to reschedule. I apologized that I could not wait any longer and would need to reschedule, and was told I would be billed for the service. :confused:

These 2 doctors are white, anglo Canadians.
 
I work in a large teaching hospital in the lab. Lots of the doctors have very thick accents.

It is absolutely VITAL for the sake of the lives of the patients that I and the other lab professionals understand a doctor perfectly when he or she talks to us.

If I don’t understand the doctor, I will say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand you.” I don’t worry about embarrassing myself or sounding racist or elitist. My first duty is to the PATIENTS, not to some political-correctedness committee.

Listening close? Have you ever worked in a hospital lab? There is so much going on, so much instrument noise, monitors, other phones ringing, timers going off, etc.–it is extremely difficult to listen with all of your being when you are trying to talk over the phone and over all this other noise. Face-to-face communication is rare between the lab and doctor.

If the doctor throws a fit, he or she gets a writeup from the lab. If he or she gets several write-ups, he or she is in TROUBLE with the hospital. Unlike House, real-life doctors are not allowed to have “attitudes” that could be dangerous or even deadly for their patients. Also, because other health care professionals like nurses, lab techs, PTs, etc. are extremely hard to hire these days because of the awful shortage of these professionals, any doctor that makes a fellow health care professional quit is likely to be fired him or herself!

Like I said, House is a ridiculous, silly show with a totally fictional main character.

I am happy to say almost all of our doctors with accents are wonderful. I think that the policy of writing them up and firing them has been extremely valuable. They realize that they have thick accents that cannot be easily understood by U.S.A.-born and bred citizens, and many of these docs go to extraordinary lengths to make sure they are understood. E.g., one doctor always spells every name he calls about, even simple names like “Jim Jones.” I appreciate this!

Other doctors communicate to their nurses, who are usually a lot more comfortable with the doctor than we are, and then the nurse will call us with the questions or requests.
 
I mentioned shortages of health care professionals like lab techs, physical therapists, nurses, etc.

Our hospital advertised for a full year for physical therapists. No bites at all.

Finally, the hospital hired several Filipino PTs. Paid all their immigration and moving expenses. We’re glad to have them!

I think that the “shortage” of “American” doctors is probably for the same reason–they’re just not there. Our hospital has a crippling shortage of neurosurgeons; for a few months, there were no neurosurgeons in the entire region and patients had to commute to one of the nearby Big Cities to see a neurosurgeon.

So if a “foreign” neurosurgeon had applied, he or she would have been welcomed joyously onto the hospital staff!

Mamas, please let your children grow up to be health care professionals! We need someone to take care of us when we get old and sick! Great jobs, great pay! And more and more hospitals are working on creating family-friendly hours that allow women to work very reduced hours while they are raising children. (We have one lab tech who works two days a month; she has three children under age four.)

What’s really sad is that there would have been plenty of health care professionals in the U.S., but they got sucked out of their mommies before they were ever born thanks to Roe. v Wade.
 
Sina said:
My parents have accents and I get so angry when people say they can’t understand them. Honestly, if you take the time to LISTEN carefully and have some patience with them, there usually isn’t a problem. So many people dismiss others because of their accents. I don’t think I have ever had a problem understanding an accent.
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Well, I guess since you grew up with parents with an accent, it would be easier for you to understand somebody with an accent.

I am a patient person and I don’t dismiss anybody until they give me a reason to. But I simply have a hard time understanding people with a strong accent, no matter how hard I try.

I don’t really understand why that would make somebody angry? :confused:
 
I’m a polyglot, and part of my linguistic training was how “foreign accents” come about. For example, an Italian accent in English can be understood a lot better if one knows that the speaker is filtering English phonetics (and sometimes grammar) thru his/her native Italian phonetics and grammar. Consequently, I can understand accents for the languages that I speak a lot more easily than for languages that I don’t speak. (It doesn’t help that I’m gradually losing my hearing 😦 )

I’ve also done some freelance medical transcription for a guy that ran a service that had a Social Security contract in the Baltimore area. There were some docs on the service with incredibly unintelligible accents–no way they should have been practicing medicine in the United States, as poorly as they could communicate. On the other hand, the doc that I liked best was also a foreigner–a female, Greek psychiatrist. Her English was accented, but totally understandable and a delight to listen to.

Bottom line–if you’re gonna practice in the States, you need to be able to speak and understand Standard American English (as well as Alabamese, if you’re gonna practice here 😛 ).

Sandra, my comment in your situation would be, “You can bill me for the service, but it’ll be a cold day in aitch-ee-double-hockey-sticks before I pay it.” :mad:
 
I have found that one of the most caring, genorous and sweet male doctors to ever deal with me, and in the intense situation where I had just lost a baby at 11 weeks gestation. The nurse asked IN FRONT OF ME if she should throw the baby in the TRASH (I brought the baby in a check box with the knowldege that it needed to go to the pathologist to determine why s/he died). The doctor yelled at her for her disgusting insensitivity, and I was practically bleeding out right there. I’ll never forget him, nor stop thanking God for him.

A muslim man, working in a catholic hospital. Yet he is an American.

Sure there are American Dcotors, and they come in all colors.
 
I can appreciate your frustration Mystified. It is nice to have a good rapport with your medical professionals and caregivers. If all news is good news, and you have no problems it doesn’t matter much who you see, especially when you don’t need to see them. When you have problems, frustrations and anxiety over you condition, that extra set of problems of poor communication and rapport doesn’t help.

I remember when I was in the hospital, my doctor had the weekend off, and another person from the group was up for that weekend. He did what he needed to do, no real complaints from me, but there just wasn’t that connection.

There are lots of problems that can crop up in your relationship to medical professionals. Just in general dissimilar language and culture can always be impediments to communication. I am sure most people in the medical field who have to deal directly with patients and consumers learn that not every culture is the same and may take a different philosophical approach to their care, and within the guidelines of proper care, you need to flex your approach to meet their needs.

As far as solutions, well there is only so much that can be done. Mystical, if I say, yes I can understand why you might feel frustrated. I do not think you are racist, any foreign born person will come with problems regarding communication, even if you can understand every word he says. There can be other causes of frustrations when it comes to doctors regardless of where they were born, too. If foreign born doctors are filling a need, they are filling a need. If they are competent and work within the guidelines, that is great. Along with everything else that is being stressed to doctors in the formative years as doctors, rapport with people needs to also be stressed. What you can do to help can be comprised if your patient doesn’t trust you.
 
I go to a school with a lot of students pursuing medical type fields (Pharmacy is definitely the biggest, and there are a lot of PA’s as well). A big reason is that medical school is so long, and they don’t want to be in school until their 30’s.

I usually don’t have a problem understanding accents. I’ve only had 2 situations where I really couldn’t understand a person because of an accent (and after asking someone to repeat themselves more than twice, I just feel horrible!!!) That would be my only complaint: if you’re working in a field where communication is important, you need to be understood by those who you will be serving.
 
Sina said:
My parents have accents and I get so angry when people say they can’t understand them. Honestly, if you take the time to LISTEN carefully and have some patience with them, there usually isn’t a problem. So many people dismiss others because of their accents. I don’t think I have ever had a problem understanding an accent.
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My mother is 78 years old and is losing her hearing, half the time she can’t understand what I say in plain English. She has an Indian doctor that she can not understand most of the time and she has told me the doctor gets mad when she asks her to repeat what she said. I’ve told her to change doctors because you need to be able to understand what your doctor is saying to you.

My mother is Italian and has an accent, some people can’t always understand what she says. I honestly don’t even “hear” her accent because I’m used to how she speaks. My father is German and people tell me he has accent although they don’t have problems understanding him and I truly do not hear any accent in my dad.

How do you get angry with someone if they can’t understand? Do you think they can’t understand on purpose? That doesn’t even make sense to me. It’s possible, because you have been exposed to people with accents, you’re used to listening very carefully. I rarely have problems understanding foreign accents either but I know many people that do.
 
I have no trouble understanding my foreign-born doctor but she has trouble understanding English. She continually confuses the words “day” and “week.” This makes it difficult when she writes prescriptions. You can imagine that “take two pills per day” is different than “take two pills per week.” I have caught these errors more than once, but wonder if her other patients are as attentive. :confused:
 
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