Experience on Nurse-Patient Interaction with Filipino Clients among Non-Tagalog Speaking BSN Students

Abstract

The Philippines have experienced an increase in international students in various programs
especially in the nursing program and medical program. This programs required students to
have clinical exposure where the students are expected to have good interaction with the
patient. This study aims to explore the experience of non-Tagalog speaking nursing students
on nurse-patient interaction with Filipino clients. A qualitative design was used in this study.
A Semi-structured interview with three questions was conducted to 13 respondents selected
with purposive sampling technique. This study included seven main informants or non-Tagalog
speaking nursing students and six general informants or Filipino nursing students’ perceptions.
The respondents were recruited from one university in the Philippines. Qualitative data analysis
was done following Giorgi’s phenomenologist method. Several themes were established in this
study: (i) translation of words which is a mean for patients and nurses to communicate their
thoughts; (ii) the use of nonverbal (gestures, technology) to facilitate nurse-patient interaction;
(iii) Importance of trust to confidence in giving care to patients; (iv) preference in giving care
to English speaking patient, unsatisfied feeling when communicating with patient; (v)
individual initiative in learning Tagalog which is mean to help in communication preparation
to Tagalog speaking patient; (vi) support from clinical instructor and Filipino friends are
methods being used to help in communication; (vii) institutional support is one way to help the
students in the preparation before clinical exposure. This study suggests that the support from
several instances such as fellow local nursing students, clinical instructors, staff nurses, and the
university are critical in helping the students dealing with communication problem to help their
students increase their self-confidence. Furthermore, willingness to learn and practice new
language plays an important role in effective communication and interaction with local
patients.