California has a growing, diverse, and aging population, and healthcare professionals are in short supply to serve all these demographic groups. Not least among the challenges is finding bilingual clinical and allied health professionals to address this issue and achieve a much-needed diversity balance in patient care statewide.
- As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 44 percent of California households speak a language other than English, with Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese being the most prevalent languages. Unless their healthcare providers speak the same language, significant barriers to quality care immediately spring up.
Miscommunication: A Leading Cause of Medical Errors
Misunderstanding, frustration, and the resulting lower levels of patient satisfaction can stem from miscommunication between patients and their healthcare providers. All too often, needed interpreter services are in short supply.
So, if you’re bilingual and have considered furthering your healthcare career in California, there are numerous benefits that can result, including:
- Making vital information accessible to your patients: Being a bilingual provider makes you indispensable to patients who do not speak English as their primary language, especially when dealing with older patients who may have poorer health, literacy, or cognitive impairments.
- Reducing health disparities: Research has shown that when healthcare providers communicate with their patients in a culturally competent manner, which begins with a shared language, there is a greater chance of increased interest and participation of both patients and the provider team in overall care.
- Providing cultural support: Bilingual providers often can add value to the quality of patient care as they have more knowledge of their patients’ backgrounds and cultures. In turn, this means they may be better equipped to diagnose certain illnesses and treat them accordingly.
The Demand Continues to Grow
By 2050, white non-Hispanics will make up less than half the total population of the United States. And California is well ahead of this curve: the state’s Latino population surpassed white non-Hispanic statistics in 2015.
The complexities of healthcare are difficult enough to grasp when you fully understand the language and culture of your providers. But without this commonality, patients are at greater risk for misdiagnosis, medical errors, and improper treatment plans. Being bilingual significantly expands your career opportunities as California’s healthcare systems strive to provide culturally competent care to increasingly diverse populations.
- Hospitals, clinics, schools, and other health-related organizations need bilingual individuals to fill healthcare roles, including nurses, medical interpreters, patient advocates, community health outreach workers, and cultural liaisons. These roles not only offer fulfilling career paths but also allow qualified professionals to make meaningful contributions to enhancing care access in underserved areas.
Are you a bilingual nurse, therapist, lab tech, medical assistant, or other allied health professional with California on your radar screen as the site to grow your career? If so, search available jobs and apply, or contact AlliedUP Co-Operative, Inc., today. Our services include end-to-end candidate representation as we match you with top facilities throughout the state.