VOA慢速英语2019--Many Healthcare Workers Need to Know English

 

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of nurses. They provide about 90 percent of all health care services worldwide.

As important as nurses are, many countries are experiencing a shortage. The World Health Organization has noted¹ the huge need for health care workers worldwide, especially nurses and midwives. Even the United States and other English-speaking nations have massive shortages.

But no matter what country nurses work in, at some point in their careers, they may be required to communicate in English. The reason is simple: The use of English in medical settings worldwide continues to grow.

When you think of nurses, you might imagine hospitals. But nurses work in countless² other places, such as health clinics, schools, private homes and assisted living centers. They work on military bases, in refugee camps and in disaster situations around the world.

There are also many specializations within nursing. Surgery, cardiac care, oncology, midwifery and anesthesia are just a few examples. Throughout their career, nurses may work in one or many specialized³ areas.

Charlotte Nwogwugwu knows all about nursing, having worked in a number of specializations and settings.

During her 13 years in health care, she has served as a surgical⁴ nurse, orthopedic nurse, psychiatric nurse and global health nurse. She has also taken students overseas for their field experience in global health. A native of Nigeria, Nwogwugwu studied nursing in the U.S. and holds a doctorate⁵ degree in public health. She is now Assistant Professor-Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

She joins us by phone to talk about nursing and some of the language challenges and victories that come with the job.

AB: Thanks again for being with us today.

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: You’re very welcome.

AB: Could you tell us a little bit about what you enjoy most about your work as a nursing professional??

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: One of the major things that I truly enjoy about nursing is the diversity in the role.

The core of what truly drives me is the ability to connect with people because, at the end of the day, I am a carer at heart. And, it’s still people that make my work valuable.

So, when I talk about the diversity in the role, it really is centered around connecting with people and how that inspires me to keep going to do what it is I do.

So, I always look at it from that perspective – whereby what it is I am doing with this individual patient is going to impact the lives of other people, not just that patient but their family members.

AB: OK great. In a typical day on the job, maybe in an interaction between nurse and patient, are there common expressions and terms that they might use?

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: Absolutely. One of the things that we are doing as nurses is that we are assessing this patient the moment we walk in. And by that, I mean we really are assessing their level of consciousness. We are assessing their pain. So, to do that, to be able to assess…how alert the patient is, I would ask the patient questions like, “Can you tell me your name?” and “What is your date of birth?”

And, of course, I’ve had patients – many, very many – who may be a bit confused. Maybe they may not be able to tell me their date of birth, so I would further probe and ask questions like, “Can you tell me what today is?” or what day of the week it is, or who the president is.

AB: So, could you give me an example of how a language barrier may impact a nurse’s interaction with a patient? Or you can talk about with a doctor, other health professionals.

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: Some nurses – maybe for those from Nigeria, for example, which is where I’m from…when we are speaking to individuals in positions of authority or even to patients that are elderly, we -

A. don’t call them by name and B. would use expressions or phrases such as, “Yes, ma.” And, for some individuals, they may find that offensive, because they don’t know what that means. But, from a cultural perspective, that is actually a sign of respect.

I think that when we have nurses who speak a different language, there are also different terminologies⁶ that kind of make it challenging. For example, it wasn’t until I came to the United States that I understood that “pants” [in Nigeria] were actually underwear [in the U.S.].

But then there are some biases⁸ between the nurse as well as the patient, in terms of 'the nurse does not have a quote American accent so perhaps they may not be able to provide the quality of the care that I expect.'

AB: So, how can – or do – nurses overcome such challenges?

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: I think that nurses, at least in my experience, have truly done an amazing job with overcoming this. And by this, I mean becoming lifelong learners.

I was really open about my own deficits⁹ in terms of what I didn’t know, what I needed to learn because that truly is one of the first steps to really be able to make the change or improve your own quality as a nurse and your own ability to speak the English language fluently. And for me, also, it is important that I practice. And, a lot of nurses will tell you that they do do that.

I’m a firm believer that it takes a village. So…administrators in hospitals also need to take an interest in the nurse workforce¹⁰ and also identify this as an area of improvement.

AB: That’s a great, very thorough answer and it partially¹¹ answers my next question. So, if someone were interested in the nursing field, what path of study do you suggest for a foreigner who wants to become a nurse in an English-speaking country?

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: I truly believe that the individual has to make that personal decision whether they would want to study in their own country or here.

Now, with that said, if an individual studies, say, in Spain, for example, or in Nigeria…or whatever country it is, for them to become a nurse – a licensed¹³ nurse – here, they still have to take the board exams. So, ya know, my response is really – they have to make that personal decision as to where they would want to get their degree from.

AB: OK great. Well, thank you so much.

CHARLOTTE NWOGWUGWU: Thank you. You’re very welcome.

And, in addition to her job as a global health professor, Nwogwugwu continues to practice nursing. She works part-time at the Perry Point VA Medical Center in Maryland.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Helpful Words and Terms

midwife – n. a person (usually a woman) who helps a woman when she is giving birth to a child (plural: midwives)

clinic – n. a place where people get medical help

assisted living facility – n. housing for people with disabilities or adults who cannot live independently

surgery – n. medical treatment in which a doctor cuts into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts

cardiac – adj. relating to the heart

oncology – n. the study and treatment of cancer and tumors

anesthesia – n. a medical treatment that prevents patients from feeling pain during surgery

orthopedic – adj. relating to the treatment of illnesses and injuries that affect bones and muscles

psychiatric – adj. relating to a branch of medicine that deals with mental or emotional disorders¹⁴

global health – n. an area for study, research and practice that places priority on improving health and achieving equity¹⁵ in health for people worldwide

interaction – n. to talk or do things with other people

consciousness – n. the normal state of being awake and able to understand what is happening around you

elderly – adj. old or rather old

bias⁷ – n. a tendency to believe that some people or idea are better than others that usually results in unfair treatment

accent – n. a way of pronouncing words that occurs among the people in a particular region or country

license¹² – n. an official document that gives you permission to do, use or have something

board exam – n. a set of tests you take to be allowed to work in a particular area as a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional

VA – n. Veterans Affairs

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

3 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

6 terminologies   

专门用语( terminology的名词复数 )； 术语； 术语学； 术语的正确使用

参考例句：

• In fact, a lot of temperament terminologies being used are used inappropriately. 事实上，许多有关于描述性情的术语都使用地不恰当。
• No definition of terminologies: parthenogenetic reproduction technique, gene modification technique. 对重要术语没有定义：如单性生殖技术、基因修饰技术等。

7 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

8 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

9 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

10 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

11 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

12 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

13 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

14 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。