Struggling with Your Doctor’s Accent? Here’s How to Make Communication Easier.
No matter where we are, we carry parts of home with us.
For some, including people from parts of Nova Scotia, this is an accent or a regional dialect. Think about a Cape Breton, or Acadian accent!
Understanding each other matters.
First of all, it’s okay if you’re unfamiliar with your healthcare provider’s accent at first.
When you first meet someone with an accent that is unfamiliar, your brain needs a minute to process.
Understanding accents is a learnable skill; it does require concentration, and a willingness to pause and communicate the challenge if you’re having a hard time taking in the information.
It’s important that both you and your healthcare provider clearly understand one another, you about your symptoms and concerns, and them about the next steps and supports they recommend.
You should leave the appointment feeling clear and supported, and your provider should feel confident that you understand the information shared and what to do next.
When communication feels challenging.
It’s natural to feel frustrated if you don’t understand, and if you don’t feel understood. It is important for everyone, however, that, as a community, we do our best to keep our interactions with healthcare providers positive and solutions-focused, and sometimes this can mean taking a deep breath, and resetting a conversation.
Four quick ways to reset a conversation
- “I’m sorry I missed that; can you repeat what you said?”
- “I want to make sure I understand what you said; do you mind repeating?”
- “Can you write that down for me? I want to make sure I have it right.”
- “I want to share this information with someone important in my life. Are you able to email a summary of our visit?”
Keep the conversation going.
Remember, if you don’t say anything, you can be left not understanding what the important information from your healthcare provider might be, and they might not know that you missed the vital information. Communication is a two-way street!