doctors and pharmacists with accent

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pharmRxn

pharmRxn

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the majority of the doctors and pharmacists who are from india have accents and i am having trouble interacting with them. the asian doctors are much better and they speak much clearer. imagine yourself speaking with one with heavy accent on the phone, it would be a disaster.
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pharmRxn said:
the majority of the doctors and pharmacists who are from india have accents and i am having trouble interacting with them. the asian doctors are much better and they speak much clearer. imagine yourself speaking with one with heavy accent on the phone, it would be a disaster.
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Even some the Asian physicians and pharmacists that I interact with have very thick accents... I just do my best...
 
Passion4Sci said:
Even some the Asian physicians and pharmacists that I interact with have very thick accents... I just do my best...
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i agree. also the pharmacist that i am working with has a thick accent and i have trouble understanding what she is talking about. i am certain that this will affect the patients.
 
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pharmRxn said:
i agree. also the pharmacist that i am working with has a thick accent and i have trouble understanding what she is talking about. i am certain that this will affect the patients.
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I haven't had any clinical errors arise from the accents... but that's not to say that it can't cause errors.
 
pharmRxn said:
the majority of the doctors and pharmacists who are from india have accents and i am having trouble interacting with them. imagine yourself speaking with one with heavy accent on the phone, it would be a disaster.
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sorry pharm, as i know you were trying to avoid this from happening on this thread. buuut, i just couldn't help myself, so yeah... 🤣 WELL, because for a moment there i had "imagined" watching YOU speak to one over the phone and your facial expressions did it for me :laugh: but, anyway... i mean, NO! disrespect/ discrimination!!![are ya kidding me???]. just a few friendly laughs, that is all 🙂
 
i am not talking about a minor accent. i am talking about heavy accent that is difficult to understand. why do they have a thick accent even though they been in the US for 10 years. is it due to lack of communication? or what?
 
Accent makes listeners uncomfortable. But it does not take responsibility out of the listeners when something goes wrong. If you don't understand anything an immigrant pharmacist says, just ask her to slowly repeat. In a pharmacy setting, I always double check everything I do, hear, type...that's just the nature of our profession. Even native born doctors or nurses sometimes misspell drug names, but our job is to check, we can't say since we don't understand we can't dispense the med.
I agree that we need to do a better job of screening applicants to pharmacy school. But once we graduate, we are all pharmacists. With all due respect, we should acknowledge they are our colleagues.
 
SmKN808 said:
sorry pharm, as i know you were trying to avoid this from happening on this thread. buuut, i just couldn't help myself, so yeah... 🤣 WELL, because for a moment there i had "imagined" watching YOU speak to one over the phone and your facial expressions did it for me :laugh: but, anyway... i mean, NO! disrespect/ discrimination!!![are ya kidding me???]. just a few friendly laughs, that is all 🙂
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i have no idea what you just said 🙂
btw how did you get 4.4 gpa?
 
pharmRxn said:
i am not talking about a minor accent. i am talking about heavy accent that is difficult to understand. why do they have a thick accent even though they been in the US for 10 years. is it due to lack of communication? or what?
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It's the way you were brought up to talk - you don't just change the way you talk. A lot of international students at my school (I go to UB so there's a ton - esp asian and indian students) could read english fine but had a lot more problems speaking it.

I took french in high school - and the french would probably say I was murdering their language.
If I spent 10 years in france, the vocabulary and grammar would improve but the accent not nearly as much. It hard to just change the way you say specific sounds and what syllables you stress in a word, how your mouth moves to form a word. This is especially hard when considering languages that do not use the latin alphabet. I coudn't imagine trying to learn russian or japanese.
 
pharmRxn said:
i have no idea what you just said 🙂
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oh, i just thought the intent of the smiley that you chose in your initial post was to stop others from making fun of people with accents[indian]. so that is why i apologised for laughing. but, anyway...

pharmRxn said:
btw how did you get 4.4 gpa?
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ap classes[chemistry, biology, calculus, physics, lang/ lit composite, statistics, german]. it is NOTHING! though. i mean, despite having what seemingly IS a very strong GPA... i'm not even in the top 25[26], of my class 🙄 there's about 11 of them averaging OVER!!! a 5.0 GPA :wow: CRAZY!!! is it not??? but, oh well... i'm happy nonetheless 🙂
 
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SmKN808 said:
ap classes[chemistry, biology, calculus, physics, lang/ lit composite, statistics, german]. it is NOTHING! though. i mean, despite have what seemingly IS a very strong GPA... i'm not even in the top 25[26], of my class 🙄 there's about 11 of them averaging OVER!!! a 5.0 GPA :wow: CRAZY!!! is it not??? but, oh well... it is what it is and i'm happy nonetheless 🙂
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At that point, GPA's no longer matter. Just give everyone a shiny gold star and pat them on the head.
 
pharmRxn said:
i am not talking about a minor accent. i am talking about heavy accent that is difficult to understand. why do they have a thick accent even though they been in the US for 10 years. is it due to lack of communication? or what?
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Just think of this way.. say you went to went to china learned mandarin chinese and lived there for 20 years I am sure you would still have your accent even though you speak perfect mandarin chinese.
 
pharmRxn said:
the majority of the doctors and pharmacists who are from india have accents and i am having trouble interacting with them. the asian doctors are much better and they speak much clearer. imagine yourself speaking with one with heavy accent on the phone, it would be a disaster.
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You really need to not engage yourself in creating offensive threads. Unless you are trolling.



If you aren't an immmigrant or ESL, you will never understand. Once you pass a certain point in your liguistic development, you will always have an accent. No need to complain about something these individuals can't change.
 
just my observation:

pharmacy really attracts a certain type of person to the profession. i've seen so many of them. not sure if people know what i am getting at..

medicine doesn't seem to attract the same breed of person...they're cut from a different (slightly more sophisticated/less ignorant) cloth.
 
ffpickle said:
just my observation:

pharmacy really attracts a certain type of person to the profession. i've seen so many of them. not sure if people know what i am getting at..

medicine doesn't seem to attract the same breed of person...they're cut from a different (slightly more sophisticated/less ignorant) cloth.
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haha. i don't think so. why do you think 72% of doctors specialize? money and greed.
 
cheburashka said:
You really need to not engage yourself in creating offensive threads. Unless you are trolling.



If you aren't an immmigrant or ESL, you will never understand. Once you pass a certain point in your liguistic development, you will always have an accent. No need to complain about something these individuals can't change.
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english is my second language and i can speak with minimal accent. i didn't mean to offend any indian. i have few indian friend who are US citizens and they were born in india, however their accent is not a problem at all.
 
ap classes[chemistry, biology, calculus, physics, lang/ lit composite, statistics, german]. it is NOTHING! though. i mean, despite have what seemingly IS a very strong GPA... i'm not even in the top 25[26], of my class 🙄 there's about 11 of them averaging OVER!!! a 5.0 GPA :wow: CRAZY!!! is it not??? but, oh well... i'm happy nonetheless 🙂[/QUOTE]

hahaha. if i was your professor i will give you a 6.0 and everyone else a 2.0.
 
pharmRxn said:
haha. i don't think so. why do you think 72% of doctors specialize? money and greed.
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that's not what i mean.


i can't really say it in a politically correct way.
 
pharmRxn said:
english is my second language and i can speak with minimal accent. i didn't mean to offend any indian. i have few indian friend who are US citizens and they were born in india, however their accent is not a problem at all.
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yeah, but how old are you.
 
pharmRxn said:
english is my second language and i can speak with minimal accent. i didn't mean to offend any indian. i have few indian friend who are US citizens and they were born in india, however their accent is not a problem at all.
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I am sure you didnt mean to offend anyone but please be aware that when you start a thread like this someone will be offended.
 
I'm actually kind of interested in this topic.

Is it different for all people to be able to get rid of an accent? Is it somehow "impossible" for someone to get rid of it?

I'm tired of people who come to the United States and can't speak proper English. I understand that nobody can pick up a language overnight, but if you have an accent, you should be actively trying to get rid of it to assimilate with the society that you wish to live in. Don't make it the responsibility of others to have to put up with it.

I mean, I worked really hard when I was just taking Spanish in high school to sound as if it was my first language, and I have been complimented by several Spanish speakers that I sound as if it really was my first language. The problem is that even though I can pronounce it perfectly, I don't actually know the language.
 
MrBoba said:
I'm actually kind of interested in this topic.

Is it different for all people to be able to get rid of an accent? Is it somehow "impossible" for someone to get rid of it?
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Well form a linguistics standpoint, it would be harder for people whose language is father away from english (or the germanic family in general). For example, some swedes barely have an accent at all while some russians have a very thick accent, even if both have been llearning english for a number of years. This is because swedish is in the same family as english, while russian a lot farther away.
(linguistics majors, my knowledge of linguistics is fairly limited so sorry if this contradicts anything you know.)

About actively trying to lose an accent, easier said than done. (Though some are just better with languages than others). It starts with the alphabet. French and english use the same alphabet, but very differently. I can't just "turn off" the way I learned the alphabet/how to pronounce the alphabet. Especially as an adult. It's easier for children, since their phonics is a lot more adaptable (they have not fully "learned" the english language). I would also think that some foreigners might be confused by the different dialects (southern vs. new yourk city, for example).
 
Not from a professional standpoint, but when I was searching for a new doctor after moving, I agree, when looking for a doctor, I found many Indian doctors, but I skipped over them all. Since I am Asian, I have an easy time understanding Asian accents, but Indian accents just .... are very difficult for me to understand. However, as a professional, you just have to deal with it, and try your best to understand as you don't get to chose who your coworkers, doctors, or customers are. Right now at work, we have many Indian post-docs, and I have a hard time understanding what they ask for... I always ask "what" or "could you repeat that" until I am sure I understood it.... in fact, I think they get annoyed at me for asking so much! But nobody says anything, because we all need to suck it up and get by.

I thought it was impossible to get a 5.0. What about all the non-AP class and non-honors classes, like PE? They only count for 4.0 total. Don't tell me they made honors PE now or something ....
 
My high school didn't do the 4.0, we did out of 100, but if you took an honors class, your grade was out of 103 and AP was out of 106. Even if you have a 106, that isn't quite a 5.0 from my understanding.
 
High School grades don't mean squat and I can't stand health professionals with accents.

There, I said it.
 
MrBoba said:
Is it different for all people to be able to get rid of an accent? Is it somehow "impossible" for someone to get rid of it?
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Is this a genuine question or a question posed with a flaming intent. 😕
 
MrBoba said:
I'm actually kind of interested in this topic.

Is it different for all people to be able to get rid of an accent? Is it somehow "impossible" for someone to get rid of it?

I'm tired of people who come to the United States and can't speak proper English. I understand that nobody can pick up a language overnight, but if you have an accent, you should be actively trying to get rid of it to assimilate with the society that you wish to live in. Don't make it the responsibility of others to have to put up with it.

I mean, I worked really hard when I was just taking Spanish in high school to sound as if it was my first language, and I have been complimented by several Spanish speakers that I sound as if it really was my first language. The problem is that even though I can pronounce it perfectly, I don't actually know the language.
Click to expand...
Do you live in another planet? Ask your grandpa and/or parents who are first generation immigrants. Do you expect them to speak English without an accent? Hell, no. But if you ask me about their offsprings, I will say yes. If you are an educated person, you should have known that language skills develop very early in life. Grown up can learn 2nd language, but without any accent I would say not in a million year.
To answer your question, yes it is impossible to get rid of an accent when you pass an age threshold. You will be a professional soon assuming that you are accepted to pharmacy school. You should look at the matter as a whole. You can make jokes about accent like all comedians do to Arnold. But to tell a person you are tired of their accent is just simply wrong.
 
busyizzy said:
I thought it was impossible to get a 5.0. What about all the non-AP class and non-honors classes, like PE? They only count for 4.0 total. Don't tell me they made honors PE now or something ....
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AP PE...? 🤣

Ackj said:
My high school didn't do the 4.0, we did out of 100, but if you took an honors class, your grade was out of 103 and AP was out of 106. Even if you have a 106, that isn't quite a 5.0 from my understanding.
Click to expand...

and for the BOTH of you, maybe this will help... http://hubpages.com/hub/increasegpa
 
fuCl said:
High School grades don't mean squat
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ooh, i wouldn't bet on it. well, now that you ARE in pharm school... i can see your point. but, if you were like ME! trying to get INTO pharm school straight from high school??? yeah... there's a difference. but, anyway... at this point you can definitely! be sure that i'm SO envious and can only imagine what it's like to be in your shoes as an actual pharmacy student. i know it's gonna take everything AND some to get their. buuut, i'm very much looking forward to it and SO cannot wait to make it happen. besides! depending on what school i get accepted to[IF?]. i may be lucky enough to waive a few of the intro courses[ap credits]. then again, maybe it be best to NOT waive any as the experience is awhole different ball game than high school[ap classes]. oh well, i'll speak to an advisor an take it from their or if anyone has advice... i'm ALL ears???
 
litetigre said:
Do you live in another planet? Ask your grandpa and/or parents who are first generation immigrants. Do you expect them to speak English without an accent? Hell, no. But if you ask me about their offsprings, I will say yes. If you are an educated person, you should have known that language skills develop very early in life. Grown up can learn 2nd language, but without any accent I would say not in a million year.
To answer your question, yes it is impossible to get rid of an accent when you pass an age threshold. You will be a professional soon assuming that you are accepted to pharmacy school. You should look at the matter as a whole. You can make jokes about accent like all comedians do to Arnold. But to tell a person you are tired of their accent is just simply wrong.
Click to expand...

Where did you learn that it is impossible to get rid of an accent after you pass an age threshold? I didn't know this.

I do not think it is wrong to say that I am tired of someone's accent. Keep in mind, I am only saying this about people with accents that are mighty difficult to understand. Just to have a slight accent is fine.
 
I have run into some similar problems... however this is a really sensitive topic isn't it? I guess the reality is it does have the potential to negatively affect patient care. Because of this - should verbal language skills be an admissions factor? Personally I say yes.
 
😕
MrBoba said:
Where did you learn that it is impossible to get rid of an accent after you pass an age threshold? I didn't know this.

I do not think it is wrong to say that I am tired of someone's accent. Keep in mind, I am only saying this about people with accents that are mighty difficult to understand. Just to have a slight accent is fine.
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I thought this was a pretty common knowledge. 😕 😕 If you are past the age of 14, when you start speaking the language, you will have an accent.

I've lived in US for about 10 years and I still have an accent! Keep in mind that I have 8 years of classical music training behind my shoulders, so I'm extra sensitive to pronunciation/hearing and distinguishing between sounds.

I see that you are from California and I'm even more amazed that you go about making statements that you are annoyed by accents given how we have such large immigrant communities in this state. Accents isn't really something that people can control, so you making a statement is like that is like making a statement that you are annoyed by someone's skin color. Completely and utterly ignorant!

Not surprisingly, your attitude isn't really going to fly in p school. On the first week of our orientation, we had a 3 hour diversity workshop about how important it is to respect other people's cultural backgrounds. You should keep this in mind.
 
Don't take it personally Cheb, MrBoba is a harmless soul, and very honest. He just had some questions and, to me (someone who doesn't have a natural accent from elsewhere) it was not offensive in the slightest. And I had plenty of cultural diversity in the Army.

That said, why can't everyone ditch their accent as well as Hugh Laurie!? Seriously, I had NO idea he has a super-thick English accent...
 
SmKN808 said:
AP PE...? 🤣



and for the BOTH of you, maybe this will help... http://hubpages.com/hub/increasegpa
Click to expand...

I know all the stuff on the website. But there ARE required non-elective non-honors/AP classes(not many, but a few) - such as PE, at least in my county, and I believe my state, but I might be wrong about the generalization of state. You cannot get a 5.0 in that class, and thus, your GPA will be brought down. In our county, it is IMPOSSIBLE to have a 5.0 and graduate from high school.
 
Passion4Sci said:
That said, why can't everyone ditch their accent as well as Hugh Laurie!? Seriously, I had NO idea he has a super-thick English accent...
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You DO know that technically, the English have no accent when they speak English; it's Americans who do. 😛

But yeah, after watching House, I was surprised to hear Hugh Laurie speak naturally.
 
medicalCPA said:
You DO know that technically, the English have no accent when they speak English; it's Americans who do. 😛

But yeah, after watching House, I was surprised to hear Hugh Laurie speak naturally.
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Mincing words on nationality vs. culture - I didn't think that was your style, medcpa 😛

My jaw hit the floor when I saw Hugh Laurie on Leno for the first time a few years ago. Same w/ Simon Baker, an Aussie. Really thick, except when he's on The Mentalist.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Mincing words on nationality vs. culture - I didn't think that was your style, medcpa 😛

My jaw hit the floor when I saw Hugh Laurie on Leno for the first time a few years ago. Same w/ Simon Baker, an Aussie. Really thick, except when he's on The Mentalist.
Click to expand...
Or when he was in "The Devil Wears Prada." Yeah...I remember random stuff.
 
busyizzy said:
I know all the stuff on the website. But there ARE required non-elective non-honors/AP classes(not many, but a few) - such as PE, at least in my county, and I believe my state, but I might be wrong about the generalization of state. You cannot get a 5.0 in that class, and thus, your GPA will be brought down. In our county, it is IMPOSSIBLE to have a 5.0 and graduate from high school.
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ooh, that sucks!!! there's no non "required" elective in our school though or even in the state i believe =/ here's a link as far as PE:

http://www.drwoolard.com/commentary/state_pe_requirements.htm
 
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pharm B said:
5.0's the new 4.0. GPA's are irrelevant now.
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You can get more than 4? How the hell does that work? Did they invent another letter? Do they give out an "E" rather than an "F" now for the kids they don't want to deal with for another year?

I think my HS GPA was like 1.7...God, I miss it so much...apathy was legally tolerated...
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
You can get more than 4? How the hell does that work?
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hmm... i have a feeling your being sarcastic. buuut, hope this helps: http://hubpages.com/hub/increasegpa

WVUPharm2007 said:
I think my HS GPA was like 1.7...God, I miss it so much...apathy was legally tolerated...
Click to expand...

🤣
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