This patient is not happy with Indian physicians. This is a pretty controversial letter to the editor in a Tennessee newspaper. I bought the article, so it can be discussed here:
Doctors need to be able to understand EnglishAccording to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, 38 percent of physicians now practicing in the United States are Indians. I have no objection to the racial background of these physicians. I do question their motivation – surely doctors are needed in their native country where many of them were fortunate enough to receive their medical training. Physicians are almost worshiped by many in India, so while prestige there might be greater, the financial return here must be overwhelmingly larger.
There is a general disregard for women in India that may be problematical for American women under the care of male Indian physicians who grew up in that culture. Our native-born doctors are guilty enough of slighting their women patients in many ways, but they were at least reared in an atmosphere where equal treatment and respect were given lip service.
There is the language barrier. Although reaping financial benefits, which would provide a private language tutor, many foreign-born physicians still speak heavily accented English. If they speak so poorly, is their understanding adequate?
Do they understand the nuance of the language well enough to catch that important clue to a patient’s condition? Can medical care be adequate when the doctor cannot understand the patient’s speech, and vice versa?
Anyone who wishes to practice medicine in the United States should understand and abide by the cultural standards of the United States – at least in dealing with patients. He/she should be able to think clearly in the English language, and speak clearly enough to be understood easily. Foreign physicians reap a rich reward here; the least they can do in return is respect patients by following these standards.
Related posts:
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- Condoms may be too big for Indian men
- AIDS ignorance in India continues
- Medicine in rural areas: "It’s like serving jail time"
- Can you understand the Patients’ Bill of Rights?
- Why doctors skip medical interpreters, and how that damages physician-patient communication
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In each country, there are always the intolerant and the tolerant people. The intolerant think that everybody should speak their language fluently with a standardized accent; the other ones reflect.
Tell me who speak the better English: the Americans, the British? They do not have the same accent. Would you rebuke a British physician the same way you did for the Indian one?
The US was build on immigration. The American people should not forget that…
A French physician in the US
What an interesting series of comments! I definitely agree that clear communication between any health care professional and a patient or patient’s family is essential, especially in an emergency or on the telephone. As a corporate speech pathologist in Tennessee who provides foreign accent modification in an intensive 3 day course, I see many foreign-born physicians and others who are highly motivated to pronounce English more clearly. However, often hospitals and other employers are not willing to pay for this training of their employees because they do not feel it is essential.
If you have a physician whom you cannot understand, you need to tell the hospital administrator, personnel director or chief of staff about this, so they know of the need for more training. Patients vote by their feet. If you still get care from that doctor, tell the doctor what you cannot understand, and ask him to speak slower or write the information down. Communication is everyone’s responsibility.
Don’t say anything if you don’t have a clue of what you are talking about. First of all, the younger you are introduced to a foreign language the better to learn it without an accent. I can tell you for my own experience, The older you are the heavier the accent. Don’t tell me that I should try to loose the accent because I CAN’T. I worked with an expert for about 2 years and was unable to do it(It helped a lot with my pronunciation though). Do you think that we want to have an accent?? OF Course NOT–Especially the way we are treated by some people. Unfortunately we have to live with it. Let me tell you something PRONUNCIATION is the most difficult part of the English Language. I’m fluent and can read and write in English probably better that many native speakers. I Attended an American University and graduated with honors, so LET’S MAKE IT CLEAR “A FOREIGN ACCENT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THAT PERSON IS NOT FLUENT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Give people some credit for speaking 2 languages, at least we try.
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