The profession and duties of a travel nurse are similar to a staffing nurse that works in one location, but the resources they require for their job are different. For instance, if a staffing nurse has a language barrier with her patients, she can ask for assistance from the local translator who might be hired to the medical facility. A travel nurse doesn’t have this opportunity and has to learn to overcome language complexities on her own under any circumstances.
Language is very important for a travel nurse, as she has to understand her patients correctly as well as be understood by them in response. Surely, English is considered to be an international language that is known and available in various countries. However, there are still many locations where people don’t get any words in English, and travel nurses cannot predict what their new country will be like to learn a whole new language before moving. And travel nurses also don’t have enough spare time to learn new languages from scratch. Therefore, we would like to share the tips and hacks that will help travel nurses understand and overcome various language barriers.
Learn basic words and expressions peculiar to a new location
Travel nurses have several weeks before changing the location. It is the perfect time to find out more about the country and culture they are going to next, and also learn the basic vocabulary that will be useful for their work there. Travel nurses commonly know the words and phrases related to their duties and can write them down in another language to learn and memorize the correct pronunciation. The basic vocabulary will be quite enough for nurses. In urgent cases, you can always ask for assistance from the local doctors or nurses as well.
Get language guides and dictionaries.
Phrasebooks are great helpers for people keen on traveling and travel due to their professions, like travel nurses. Such language guides commonly include all basic information about the language of your new location. The book is usually divided into certain subjects like transport, café, hospital, hotel and so on where you can find the suitable words and phrases to express yourself correctly. Phrasebooks are also small in size, and you can always take them to work to keep learning in your free time and look for the phrases you need to translate quickly.
Use online learning resources.
According to various posts from the custom writing service Best Essays Education, the approach to learning a new language for travel nurses depends on the duration of being in one or another country and place. For instance, if you stay in a certain location for a week or a bit longer, there is no need to attend learning courses and spend much money on education as language guides will be pretty enough for communication. However, if you are going to stay at a place for several months or even years, you should take a more serious approach to learning a new language. If you don’t have the opportunity to attend online classes for beginners, you can always find a suitable learning course online. Online courses have various types like speaking, writing, or combined. Just pick the most effective approach for you and learn wherever you are and whenever you have free time from your job.
Consider communication with native speakers.
The time needed to learn a foreign language from scratch and overcome a language barrier is very individual, as someone may need several months to speak well, while others may need years of deep learning to become proficient. Also, it depends on the complexity of the selected language. But no learning course can replace communication with native speakers. Instead of reading the language guides, spend some time talking with local people and practicing your speaking. Thus, you will learn much faster, more efficiently, and with more pleasure. But you still need to learn the basic vocabulary before moving on to talk with patients and be clearly understood.
Learn the language of gestures
Due to the writing reviews Trust My Paper, the language of gestures will be comprehensible in any part of the world. It is not obvious to learn all possible gesture combinations, but just learn the basics that will clearly convert the information for your patients and colleagues. Surely, it will add not much value to your language knowledge, but this approach will be your rescue at the very beginning.
Bottom line
Picking the right approach to learning the language and overcoming the language barrier is the key to becoming proficient in it in the short term. It is better to combine several methods of learning like reading the thematic literature, getting portable vocabulary and guides, and practicing your communication skills with native speakers.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
