Language Skills as Marketing Tool for Yourself

There is curently a nurse shortage in Japan according to an article by the Seattle Time where Naoto Kan who is going to be stepping as Japan's Prime Minister shortly has had many meetings with advisors to deal with the issue of "beefing up the nursing industry as Japan's population continues to age".



This is another example of how the nursing shortage crisis is not just limited to a few countries(like the U.S) but also becoming a global issue.

American registered nurses and nursing students should consider learning another language to become more marketable.



When I am reffering to learning another language, I'm not just talking about just taking a few Berlitz classes so you can communicate but taking advance courses that specifically deal with medical terms. Having this skill under your belt, a registered nurse could acquire a job in another country that pays more compettive salary or can ask for more money when she applies to a hospital.


If you plan on working in the United States, Spanish is a great language to know due to the large amount of migrant workers in certain parts of the country. Spanish, however, should not be considered the only option since in larger cities, they are many communities of immigrants like Chinese where many people have not yet learned the language.


It all depends on where you plan on living. For example, if you want to live in California, then learning Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese or Spanish would be a good choice. If you intend to live in Arizona or Texas, then Spanish would be the language of choice.

Another advantage of being a bilingual registered nurse is that it will give you that extra edge when applying for a nursing position as an employer would rather hire a bilingual nurse then one who is not.