The medical biographic novel” The spirit catches you and you fall down,” by Anne Fadiman is a magnificent time capsule of the experiences faced by the Hmong peoples during their migration to America. However amusing the novel was from a literary standpoint, the novel described many deeply discerning attributes of the American health care system and Social Work arena of that time period. Although this novel describes the journey of one people ‘s immigration to America this story really speaks to the experiences of many migrate populations in the United States.
As a social worker, I felt uncomfortable anytime the book discussed times when any member of the health care profession, including social work professional of that time attempted to speak to Lee’s in English understanding clearly that they were not proficient in the language and were not capable of understanding what was happening to their child. I was also uncomfortable I was only a mere six pages into the novel when I encountered my first ethical dilemma with the Health and Social Work services rendered to the Lee’s. The Lee’s were asked to sign paperwork in English when all hospital workers were aware that they could not speak English and were unable to determine the level of English Mr. or Mrs. Lee could read or write.
Although there was no specific Federal law in 1982 about cultural competence when Lia Lee was born in MCMC hospital, the hospital was aware of a need for Hmong language translators in their hospital. MCMC stated in the novel that they attempted to hire Hmong staff personnel such as janitors to translate on occasion which in and of its self is against the social works code of
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