International Communication

Running head: INTERNATION COMMUNICATION

International Communication

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Abstract

There are around 6800 languages spoken in the world today. A person will never know when they may come across someone who speaks a language that they have no idea how to speak and cannot even find someone who does. This has happened to me on a couple of occasions with the most unique being when I worked at the hospital. Most people you come in contact with around my area will either speak English or Spanish. But as I have learned there are always people around that will speak something completely different, and sometimes you must take care of these people.

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International Communication

In the medical field there is no guarantee that the people you take care of will speak the same language as you do. As with many careers at some point in time you will come across a road-block.

Patient Recognition Month Poster

English: An Indonesian nurse examines a patient at...

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When a nurse takes care of a patient, the nurse must assess the patient from head to toe including all the body's systems. For example, a nurse must check the patient's neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and neurovascular systems just to name a few. A nurse must also assess a patient's pain level which can be quite difficult because pain is only assessed by what the patient can tell you. Of course, you can watch a patient's facial expressions, but sometimes even this can be difficult to understand. Imagine assessing a patient from head to toe and dealing with their pain issues with a language barrier blocking your path. Add on to that the fact that no one in your surrounding workplace actively speaks the language that your patient does.

One morning I arrived to work at the hospital where I used to...