國際醫療趨勢下護理人員加強英語溝通能力之必要性

Internationalized Medical Care Services Increase Need of Health Care Providers to Improve English Communication Skills

英語是國際的共通語言之一。在人們往來頻繁的地球村時代，護理照護已經沒有國界。臨床上，護理人員相較於以往，有較多的機會接觸不同國籍的顧客；但當語言溝通產生障礙或錯誤時，將會危及外籍顧客的健康安全，阻礙其利用照護資源。所以，基本的英語溝通能力有助於護理人員更能了解外籍顧客的感受；間接也會影響他們選擇就醫的意願。然而臨床上，多數護理人員遇到外籍顧客常不知如何開口，或只能用單字回答，或等到有會說中文的朋友來到再詢問資料；更別提使用英語進行護理指導。英語雖非我國的官方語言，但身為醫療團隊中護理人員，加強英語溝通能力是絕對有必要的：一，醫院主管的支持；二，鼓勵護理人員學習英文；三，依照護理人員工作時間增加不同的英文學習時間；以及四，為穩定國際病房的護理人力，增加該病房護理人員的薪資亦可成為吸引護理人員學習英文的動機。是故，加強護理人員的英語溝通能力，成為目前各大醫院內部政策中備受重視的課題之一。因為有效的語言溝通才能減少因為溝通障礙衍生之糾紛，也能提供更完善的照護服務。

English is the most important language used in international communication. Nurses today have significantly more opportunities to come into contact with clients of different nationalities. Therefore, English communication abilities are a critical to the effective care of foreign clients. Miscommunications due to language barriers can endanger the health and safety of foreign clients and hinder their access to healthcare resources. Basic English communicate skills allow nurses to better understand the feelings of foreign clients and to affect their satisfaction with healthcare services provided. The majority of clinical nurses in Taiwan are inadequately prepared to communicate with foreign clients or use English when delivering nursing care services. Although English is not an official language in Taiwan, strengthening English communication skills is necessary for Taiwan’s healthcare service system. Faced with increasing numbers of foreign clients in their daily work, first-line nursing staffs need more training to improve English proficiency. In order to do so, support from the hospital director is the first priority. The second priority is to motivate nursing staffs to learn English; the third is to incorporate different English classes into the medical system and schedule class times to meet nurse scheduling needs; and the fourth is to establish international medical wards, with appropriate incentives in pay designed to attract and retain nursing staffs proficient in English communication.