Pediatric Nurses' Experiences in Caring for Non-English Speaking Patients and Families

Language barriers challenge patient- and family-centered care. Literature guiding pediatric nurses caring for patients and families with limited English proficiency in the inpatient setting is nonexistent. The purposes of this phenomenological study were to understand pediatric nurses' experiences in caring for patients and families with limited English proficiency and to explore how nurses navigate the communication gap.

A purposive sample of 15 pediatric Registered Nurses at a large urban children's medical center participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. Verbatim transcribed interviews were analyzed line-by-line and categorized into themes.

Themes included personal framework of care, consequences of caring, starting off right, nurse sensing, verbal/nonverbal methods, and interpreters.

Nurses did not perceive differences in task-oriented care; they described compromised personal paradigms, held negative feelings, and utilized verbal/nonverbal communication methods. Future research is needed exploring patients' and families' perceptions regarding care by other language-speaking nurses.