Bilingual Healthcare Workers Needed Now

by Alex A. Kecskes

Minority Nurse Magazine recently reported that just 2 percent of all US registered nurses are Hispanic/Latino. Today, being bilingual is critically important in nursing or any healthcare career. In fact, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that every organization receiving federal money employ bilingual staff.

Hospital patients feel more comfortable if a nurse, lab technician or doctor can relate to the concept of familia. Physicians' assistants, nurses' aides, orderlies, mental health technicians, food service personnel, and people who work in nursing homes need to be bilingual to make a healthcare organization more efficient and effective. Patients need to understand the procedures they will undergo, results of tests, and how and when to take their meds. Explaining these things in their native language simplifies this greatly.

If you're a bilingual healthcare job seeker, you should subscribe to the American Journal of Nursing and other professional journals. You would also benefit by joining any of the many Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic/Latino professional organizations geared toward healthcare.

Bilingual and bicultural healthcare professionals are in demand and extend beyond Spanish to many Asian and European dialects. So English-speaking individuals with these language skills should consider a career in healthcare if they are looking for work.

Financial aid is available through educational institutions and other sources. The American Nurses Association, for example, offers the Minority Fellowship Program for students training for careers in mental health.

On a personal note, I believe bilingual healthcare workers are needed to prevent a hospital maintenance worker or child relative from having to translate medical information to non-English speaking patients.

For more information on health careers, visit http://www.healthcarejobsite.com/