A 38-year-old female who speaks very little English has been admitted to the emergency department with abdominal pain. What is the best way to communicate with this client?
1. Ask a nursing student who is fluent in Spanish to interpret.
2. Communicate by using hand gestures to supplement words.
3. Use a translator provided by the hospital or a community agency.
4. Use the client's 14-year-old son as a translator because he is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Correct Answer: 3
Translators are important to facilitate communications between nurses and their clients if they don't speak the same language. Nurses must ensure that the translators are communicating effectively with the client by monitoring the client's nonverbal communications. Also, the nurse should speak to the client and have the translator translate as closely as possible to the words used by the nurse. This will engender trust and make the client the centerpiece of the discussion. Some nursing schools do not permit nursing students to translate for a procedure consent because of lack of knowledge about the procedure may lead the student to give inaccurate information. Communicating with limited speech and verbal gestures may lead to miscommunication. Children should not be used as translators. The patient not wishing family members to know about his or her problem may not provide complete or accurate information.
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