Yes, You Really Do Need to Speak English

It has to be the first question our recruiters are asked: Do I REALLY need to speak English well? And the answer, quite frankly is YES. And it should be a higher level English than the conversations you may be able to have with your typical English-speaking acquaintances. You need to be able to place well on a TOEFL or IELTS Academic Band exam.

The reasons are innumerable. Not only do our nurses interact with Spanish-speaking patients, they are expected to care for ANY patient they are assigned and chances are that with the variety of immigrants we enjoy in this country English will be the common ground for communication. Second, you will be expected to be able to communicate with coworkers, doctors, and superiors- many of whom do not speak Spanish. The lack of means of communication is not only unprofessional, it is dangerous to patient care. Most importantly, all of our hospitals EXPECT you to be fully proficient in the English language! It's vital to them! After all what good will it be to them to have a fully Spanish-speaking nurse on staff if they can't talk to him or her?

The Institute of California is committed to having a nurse be successful and happy in this country. A lack of English would affect your quality of life in this country.

I know that it seems like a really hard task to many of you. Learning the English language has to be one of the most difficult languages to learn, but it is essential to success in this country. So spend more time on your English. You will thank yourself later!

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