Working with interpreters: how student behavior affects quality of patient interaction when using interpreters.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cultural Competency
• Clinical Communication

Background:

• Medical interpreters are crucial in clinical settings, yet professionals often lack formal training.
• An educational workshop was developed for second-year medical students (MSIIs) focusing on best practices for interpreter utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a medical interpreter training workshop.
• To determine if identified deficiencies in training impacted the quality of patient encounters.

Main Methods:

• 152 MSIIs attended a 3-hour workshop and completed a skills assessment 8 weeks later.
• Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests were employed to analyze workshop effectiveness.

Main Results:

• 39.4% of students failed the skills assessment (passing score 70%).
• Key areas of deficiency included assuring confidentiality (50% failure) and interpreter positioning (70% failure).
• Interpreter positioning, unlike confidentiality, significantly affected standardized patient satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Training medical students on interpreter use is essential for effective cross-language communication.
• Emphasizing both interpreter positioning and confidentiality assurance is necessary to enhance clinical encounters.
• Specific training on interpreter positioning can improve patient satisfaction in cross-language interactions.