Monday, September 20, 2010

Can I get you a bowl of SOAP?

My Spanish vocabulary is VERY limited.  It is always a challenge when I have a spanish speaking patient.  Often I resort to gestures or noises to get my message across. 

Friday night:

Me to my spanish speaking patient: Are you nauseated?
Patient: (blank stare)
Me to my spanish speaking pt's daughter: Is she nauseated?
Pt's daughter: (blank stare)
Me: making dry heave/vomitting noises and actions to daughter and patient.
Patient: complete recognition of what I was asking. 
The answer was No

Later Friday night-same patient.

Pt's daughter walks up to the nursing desk.  She speaks enligsh but it is very limited. 

Pt's daughter: do you have soap?
Me: Soap?
Pt's daughter: Yes, soap.  (She then proceeds to hold her hand in a cupping position and hold a pretend spoon with her other hand while pretending to feed herself.) Soap, she repeats. 
Me: Soup? Do you mean Soup? (Me acting out soup) or Soap? (Me acting out washing my body with a bar of soap.) 

The daughter and I had a very good laugh about soap vs soup.  I doubt she will be making the same mistake again soon :)

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