Benefit of Bilingual Services in Community Health - Coursework Example

Benefit of Bilingual Services in Community Health Introduction I serve as an intern at Chinatown Public Health Center located in the city of San Francisco, 1490 Mason Street San Francisco, CA 94133. Among my roles at the health center are double checking the database from projects, translating information about First Aid and CPR classes for immigrants interested in such classes and updating information in client chart among many others. Bilingual skills are essential in the provision of health care services, the effectiveness of the communication between patients and doctors relies the lingual expertise of both the parties. Method Among my main roles while serving as an intern in the health center include the translation of First aid and CPR learning materials from Cantonese to Mandarin and vice versa in most cases. The procedure is vital in abetting the quality of training for such interested participant. They require the materials in their native languages in order to facilitate their comprehension of the contents. Training is a way of sustaining the practice, the preparation of the learning materials thus safeguards the quality and uniformity of the practice in the two societies. My roles also included updating information on client charts and assisting the health department staff update the database from projects. The two roles are equally vital in the sustenance of the various projects. By double-checking the databases, I contribute to the quality of health care services the patients receive. The same is achieved when I assist in updating the client information. By doing so I facilitate the communication between the patients and the health care practitioners. Literature review Asnani (2009) highlights the importance of communication in healthcare practice. The author explains that to most patients, the quality of health care they receive in a facility depends on the kind of communication between them and the practitioners. The difficulty in communication arises from the inability of the patient to talk in a common language which may compel the doctor to assess the patient in a second language. Bilingual communication refers to the ability of an individual to speak two languages. This is an ideology which is reaffirmed by Duffy et al. when they assert that effective communication brings the patients and care practitioners closer especially if they drawn from different cultural and ethnic background (2004). With effective communication, doctors diagnose their patients well since they obtain all the relevant information in order to facilitate such quality and equally essential procedures. In cases of communication breakdown between the two, the patients fail to describe their condition yet the symptoms of most diseases are easily observed. This does not only make the diagnosis process more expensive but also equally time consuming. In such cases, bilingual skills become important and the inability of the practitioner to communicate in the other language does not only break down the communication process but also stalls the treatment process. As Clark implies, ethnic differences affect the quality of communication in the provision of health care services (2003). Communication between patients and doctors are in stages. It might be between patients or by the practitioners. In the two stages, ethnic and cultural difference presets a major hindrance to effective communication a feature that makes bilingual skills fundamental in the practice. A good communication ensures proper medical practices are followed. Among such are diagnostic accuracy, adherence patient safety and patient satisfaction. As discussed earlier, the diagnosis of various ailments relies on the ability of the patient to describe his or her feelings. The Medical Group Management Association reaffirms that communication is vital for proper diagnosis and the procedures that follow thereafter (2011). The doctor on the other hand must note the various features the patient describes and infer vital diagnostic features from such. The value of communication is therefore paramount in the practice. The quality of communication between a patient and a doctor further contributes to patient safety and satisfaction. The patient therefore receives appropriate treatment from the health care practitioners a feature that contributes to adherence thus the satisfaction of both the patients and the practitioners who must grow professionally. Analysis The importance of effective communication cannot be overlooked in the medical world. It is through communication that one assesses an emergency situation then applies the right skill or medical procedure. This was a reality during the time I served at the Health facility in San Francisco. In a show of understanding of the importance of first aid skills, the people of San Francisco exhibited immense interest in First aid education. The community where I served was a multicultural one. Therefore, it was only through a good form of communication that there could be an understanding. I translated the information in the training kits into either Cantonese or Mandarin depending on the language of origin. My bilingual prowess enabled me to translate the vital documents into the specific languages ensuring that the messages were as accurate as in the original document. This way, people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds can help each other without communicating owing to their language barrier. Furthermore, the medical procedures are definite and must therefore be similar regardless of the language. This makes the quality and similarity of the translation of the information materials important in safeguarding the quality and safety of the practice. Ethnic or cultural differences might interfere with the process of information dissemination. The same is evident in my roles at the health center updating client’s information chart and double-checking the database from projects. Because of the multicultural nature of the community, I had to take care not to lose the meanings of the intended information despite the differences in understanding amongst the community members. Health care projects are vital projects that attract immense public interest and public participation. Through such projects, the society evaluates the quality of health care services in the country. By double-checking the information in the database, I counterchecked the information thereby eradicating the database of any errors. Medical diagnostics are made based on the information relayed from the patient’s medical history. At the medical facility, I realized that communication among the practitioners relies on the information they obtain from the information systems all of which draw the information from the database. Counterchecking the information in the database for errors therefore mitigates on a series of errors that may arise from a simple error in translation. Such errors result in misinterpretations thereby resulting in a series of communication breakdowns. Conclusion In retrospect, bilingual expertise helps facilitate various fundamental practices in health facilities. Bilingual skills improve the quality of communication in the facilities. Communication is the most important process in the facilities since they help in dispensing appropriate services. As discovered, communication helps safeguard patient safety, adherence, patient satisfaction and diagnostic accuracy. Each of the above practices is vital in guaranteeing the quality of the services patients receive from the facilities. Bilingual expertise contributes to the quality and appropriateness of the communication process. The communication between the patients and the practitioners and the communication among the health care practitioners are equally vital but each requires specific level of expertise. References Asnani, M. R. (2009). Patient-physician communication. WestIndian Med J, 58(4):357-61. Clark, P. A. (2003). Medical practices’ sensitivity to patients’ needs: Opportunities and practices for improvement. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 26(2), 110-123. Duffy, F. D., Gordon, G. H., Whelan, G., Cole-Kelly, K., & Frankel, R. (2004). Assessing competence in communication and interpersonal skills: The Kalamazoo II report. Academic Medicine, 79, 495-507. Makaryus, A. N., & Friedman, E. A. (2005). Patients’ understanding of their treatment plans and diagnosis at discharge. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 80(8), 991-994. Medical Group Management Association. (2011). Electronic health records: status, needs and lessons. Englewood: MGMA Press. Read More