Empowering nurses: Bridging the communication gap in healthcare

Communication skills are the gateway to a multitude of opportunities. Words are powerful threads that knit our lives together. Words placed strategically form the building blocks of effective communication. This skill becomes even more crucial for professions like healthcare, where lives hang in the balance.

A severe shortage of healthcare professionals worldwide, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly increased the global mobility of skilled Indian healthcare providers. The following statistics from the UK government paint a clear picture:

• Out of 25 job categories, healthcare jobs had the highest share of openings in the UK in 2022, with every 1 out of 8 vacancies (13 per cent) being in the healthcare domain.
• Almost 50,000 new nurses register annually with the NMC, 30 per cent of whom are from India and the Philippines.
• In 2023, out of 1.5 million nursing staff registered with the NHS, more than 2,60,000 were non-UK nationals. Out of these foreign nurses, almost 25 per cent come from India.

While this exchange of skilled healthcare professionals’ benefits both source and destination countries, it also exposes a critical challenge: the language barrier faced by nurses for whom English is a second language. 

English, being the language of international communication, is a crucial tool for navigating the global healthcare environment. Migrant healthcare professionals need to be fluent in English when caring for a majority English-speaking population. However, despite their clinical expertise, many frontline responders, nurses, and healthcare professionals who speak English as a second language struggle to communicate in their work environments.

Non-native English-speaking nurses working in majority English speaking countries find it easier to connect and communicate with their patients when they are proficient in the local language. This improves the nurses’ confidence and eases the stress of their demanding jobs. A gap in communication could therefore impact not only the lives of the nurses but also of those in their care. Clear and empathetic communication can make difficult situations easier to bear for the suffering and vulnerable.

In light of these insights, English language proficiency tests like the OET (Occupational English Test) are often made mandatory for trained ESL healthcare providers seeking jobs in English-speaking countries, leading to increased opportunities for Indian students who are proficient in the language. However, studies have found that many healthcare and nursing aspirants have gaps in their English language capabilities. 

Even students who finish their training in English-medium institutions in India often display an incapacity to communicate in the language. This lack of foundational English language skills makes it tough for these students to grasp the preparatory material for tests such as the OET, leading to lower scores on these tests and delays in their plans to move abroad.

To truly empower our healthcare providers, it is important to incorporate focused communication training that goes beyond basic language instruction in all medical programmes and curricula. Integrating language training for English and bridge courses for high-stakes language tests, emphasising practical language use in medical settings, and providing better practice modules to students will prepare them to handle all language requirements in their professional lives.

By investing in language education and communication skills, we can ensure that our healthcare workers can support efficient healthcare operations, meet the demands of their roles, and position themselves to make significant contributions on the global stage.