Will fluency in a second (or third) language increase pay?

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Thinking of becoming fluent in Spanish first. And then Mandarin. Will they increase pay? If so, how much? Anyone with personal experience?

 

[Bartelby]

I have not seen employed positions advertising increased pay for fluency in a second language, though maybe you could use it in negotiations. It might help attract patients in a private practice.

 

[675015]

I have not seen employed positions advertising increased pay for fluency in a second language, though maybe you could use it in negotiations. It might help attract patients in a private practice.

Some of the moonlighting gigs around here pay more per hour if you can speak Spanish though I would imagine if you are going to be dealing with any type of tangential or disorganized patients you'd want to be pretty fluent.

 

[smq123]

Thinking of becoming fluent in Spanish first. And then Mandarin. Will they increase pay? If so, how much? Anyone with personal experience?

I am a salaried FM doctor in Miami. I am not "fluent" in Spanish, but I am pretty proficient - I see my patients without a translator. About 80% of my patients speak mostly or only Spanish.

I have never heard of anyone being offered more money for being fluent in another language, although I suppose you could try to use it in negotiations.

The bigger question is how you plan on becoming fluent in Spanish. Do you already speak it to some degree? Becoming fluent in another language requires a lot of energy and time - energy and time that most physicians just don't have.

 

[SeniorWrangler]

I'm trying to learn Spanish anyway for travel purposes, and I think every American should learn both languages.
However, at my institution (and probably every institution in the USA), you have to pass a certification exam before acting as your own interpreter with non-English speaking patients, and that's a fairly high bar to pass.

 

[michaelrack]

However, at my institution (and probably every institution in the USA), you have to pass a certification exam before acting as your own interpreter with non-English speaking patients, and that's a fairly high bar to pass.

I know lot's of "institutions" that do not require this

 

[smq123]

I'm trying to learn Spanish anyway for travel purposes, and I think every American should learn both languages.
However, at my institution (and probably every institution in the USA), you have to pass a certification exam before acting as your own interpreter with non-English speaking patients, and that's a fairly high bar to pass.

That's definitely a new one. I haven't been anywhere where that was required.

 

[Ψ-117]

Never heard of increased pay for speaking extra languages. The only benefit I can think of would be that if you know a language well enough and many of your patients speak that language, you wouldn't need an interpreter and that can really help speed up your work. (So if your pay is dependent on how many patients you see, and a good percentage of them speak a foreign language you know, I suppose such a situation may result in better pay.) Keep in mind, as has been pointed out, you might be required to pass a certification exam to work without an interpreter, and you do need to know the language very well in order to pass. The last two places I've worked required this. Also, don't forget that in psychiatry there is a lot more talking involved than in other specialties, and much of what your patients say can be important. Although I know Spanish pretty well myself, I prefer to work with interpreters just so I don't miss anything.

 

[TexasPhysician]

That's definitely a new one. I haven't been anywhere where that was required.

This is becoming more and more common.

I've never seen anyone offer more pay for language skills. I have seen jobs require Spanish speaking psychiatrists, but the job would not have been competitive for most people anyways.

 

[petuniajoelle]

This is becoming more and more common.

I've never seen anyone offer more pay for language skills. I have seen jobs require Spanish speaking psychiatrists, but the job would not have been competitive for most people anyways.

As a psych NP proficient in Spanish I have received differential offers of 5-10% on top of base salary. Some organizations have tested me other with just a conversation, others not.

 

[WingedOx]

I'm trying to learn Spanish anyway for travel purposes, and I think every American should learn both languages.
However, at my institution (and probably every institution in the USA), you have to pass a certification exam before acting as your own interpreter with non-English speaking patients, and that's a fairly high bar to pass.

Given how obnoxiously difficult it was to get our interpreter system up and running and/or available, I find a requirement like that to be amusing.

Plus, I've had plenty of patients who just don't like to use interpreters.

 

[wannabie]

I haven't heard or seen jobs offering more money for second languages, but it seems reasonable that you can fill a private practice faster if you speak more languages. Even though I have some competence in a second language, it'd be challenging to interview, counsel, or do psychotherapy in it.

 

[FlowRate]

I've heard of other languages leading to greater income in other specialties (in private practice), but those same communities tend to be a bit less keen on psychiatry, generally. The best example is Mandarin in any place with a large new-rich Chinese population (Vancouver.)