Tips for Working with a Medical Interpreter

Clinicians have to work with medical interpreters, as most states require hospitals to provide medical interpreters for those patients that do not speak English. Here are tips that clinicians can use when they are working with medical interpreters. The first thing that a clinician must remember is to choose the interpreter carefully. It is important to train bilingual hospital staff who are involved interpreting. Minors should also never be used in interpreting. When working with a medical interpreters is it is recommended to speak in short sentences. These allow for accurate and complete translation. You must not task the memory of the medical interpreter. Medical interpretation should avoid simultaneous interpretation and rather use consecutive interpretation. Simultaneous interpretation is very distractive. Clinicians and providers must learn to avoid using complicated medical terms, as these can be very confusing. The provider must be prepared to be asked by the interpreter to slow down or to repeat information that is critical. Another crucial tip that the clinician should call the medical interpreter early. The medical interpreter should be scheduled to meet the doctor and the patient immediately the patient has been admitted.

The clinician should not attempt to deal with the patient without the help of the medical interpreter. It is recommended for the clinician to wait for the interpreter before he or she begins treatment on the patient. Another useful tip is to recognize the importance of medical interpreters who are trained. Trained medical interpreters are more effective in the facilitation of communication between the clinician and the patient’s relatives who are not reliable in interpreting. It is important realize that the relatives and children of the patient not able to communicate effectively with the provider on sensitive and complex medical information. A trained medical interpreter can become one of the best team members of the medical team. The clinician must take time with the medical interpreter to prepare. One of the most useful things that can help the medical team to prepare is o have a preconference as it is useful in bridging cultural gaps. A preconference is going to help the clinician to be able to extract information from the patient without offending sensibilities.