I work in one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the southern hemisphere, South Auckland. There are people from many different places who now call this area home. English may well be a second, third or even fourth language to many of my patients and their families. Many different native languages are spoken and on any given day our inpatient unit may be full of people representing many different groups.

I make an effort to learn how to say simple common greetings in the native language of my patients. Over many years I have gathered a list of these greetings. If I don’t know the standard greeting I will resort to an internet search for the appropriate greeting before I meet the patient. A simple “hello” in their native language is usually appreciated and is the first step in building rapport. If I know more words in their language I’ll make use of as many as I can during the rest of the consultation. When trying to make a connection you usually only have one shot, make it a good one.