The Money Bag

It used to be that every nurse I worked with came from a different country, so that the only language we had in common was English. That kept things simple. English was the only language spoken. As nurses have quit and been replaced with Tagalog speaking nurses, the primary language spoken at work has changed to Tagalog.

I haven't been happy with that change; I feel excluded and left out when everyone around me is speaking some language I don't understand. Aside from being rude, it is also unsafe. I have no idea what is going on at work unless someone decides to translate for me.

I mentioned this to one of the bosses once and she just said, "We are the majority here." I never said another word about it, but wasn't happy. Privately, the non-Tagalog nurses grumbled amongst themselves about it, but what could we do?

What has changed is that the patients have begun complaining. No one likes to feel like they're in a third world hospital, surrounded by nurses jabbering away in some strange dialect. The complaints began pouring in and that is what got management's attention.

We now have a money bag. Anyone who speaks any language other than English on the floor, gets fined two dollars. The money goes in the money bag and when there is enough, we will have a party. On the first day of the rule, we collected enough for a pizza. Things are looking up.