Communication is one of the most important aspects of providing quality care. A study by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of people over the age of 5 who speak Arabic at home rose from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021.1 This remarkable 581% increase in speakers has led to a greater demand for services that accommodate the language barrier.
In this guide, you will learn how to effectively communicate with your Arabic-speaking patients using common and essential clinical phrases.
The importance of effective communication
The ability to communicate with your patients is arguably one of the most overlooked skills in healthcare. It allows you to establish rapport while collecting pertinent information about your patients' conditions, enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Communicating in a patient's native language significantly builds trust by fostering comfort and understanding. Factors like cultural competence, clear communication, and personal involvement were shown to play a key role in trust-building between patients and doctors, especially in culturally diverse or resource-limited settings.
A study that explored factors influencing trust in doctors highlighted that patients who feel recognized and understood by their healthcare providers are more likely to have positive care experiences and engage actively in their treatment plans.2
This trust can benefit your practice by attracting patients who feel more comfortable being treated by someone familiar with their native language. From personal experience, Arabic-speaking patients appreciate physicians who make an effort to learn and use a few key phrases during their clinical exam.
For more eyecare-based language guides, check out these articles:
Let’s learn some useful phrases in Arabic
While this guide is not an exhaustive list of the Arabic language, it includes important phrases that will help you navigate an entire eye exam. It also contains simple and common assessments and plans to help you educate your patients without the need for an interpreter.
Also, download the cheat sheet below to learn how to communicate effectively through the following parts of an eye exam:
- Introduction
- Case history
- Entrance exam
- Refraction
- Fundoscopy and slit lamp examination
- Basic assessment and plan
Download the Arabic language phrases cheat sheet here
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Arabic Language Phrases for Eyecare Professionals
Use this cheat sheet to help communicate with Arabic-speaking patients and pair it with the video above to facilitate ophthalmic exams.
In closing
Becoming proficient in these common phrases will not only help you grow your practice and improve efficiency, but it will also make your patients feel more comfortable continuing their care with you.
This leads to a more trusting doctor-patient relationship and can help you retain patients and gain new ones through referrals, especially if neighboring offices are unable to effectively communicate with them.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions!
