Interpreting in Healthcare Settings

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Home For Interpreter Educators
For Interpreter Educators

Concept Map


CONCEPT MAP FOR MENTAL HEALTH/MEDICAL INTERPRETING EDUCATION

St. Catherine University – CATIE Center; NURIEC; NCIEC.  2008
Karen Malcolm, Curriculum Consultant.  Laurie Swabey and Cathy Cogen, Project Directors.

Download PDF Version

1: Orientation | 2: Conditions/Treatments | 3: Language Use | 4: Ethics/Boundaries | 5: Interpreting Skills | 6: Interpersonal Skills | 7: Self-Care/Self-Awareness | 8: Professional/Research Skills

Module One: Orientation/Overview of Mental Health/Medical Interpreting

This module provides an introduction to working in medical and mental health settings.  Students will be introduced to the settings where this work is performed and the systems and structures in place; to personnel involved in the provision of services; and to the characteristics of mental health/medical interpreting that are unique to these settings.

Content:

  • Deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing people and their experiences with the medical/mental health setting
  • Systems in mental health/medical settings
    • 7 main fields in medicine (surgery, internal medicine, family and community medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, psychiatry)
    • Overview of health care system
    • Structures and hierarchies
    • Private insurance and HMOs
    • Acute vs. chronic:  Emergency room, long term care, residential programs, rehab, out patient
    • Mental health continuum from psychiatrically disturbed to people who are seeking self-growth/enlightenment
    • Teaching hospitals
    • Difference between public and private systems
  • Personnel
    • Roles, function and relationship (e.g., case manager, doctor, psychiatrist, etc.)
    • Boundaries
  • Legal responsibility
    • HIPAA, duty-to-warn, legal privilege, informed consent, etc.
    • ADA, state human rights acts
    • Professional liability
    • Honest representation of credentials and training
  • Treatment protocols
    • Various health care approaches, e.g., Chinese medicine, ayurvedic, etc.
    • Policies, goals, dynamics, interventions, procedures
  • Role of interpreters in these settings
    • Ability to explain role/function without use of jargon
    • Staff vs. freelance
    • Boundaries
      • working with people with borderline personality disorders
  • Advance directives and living wills
  • Challenges and Rewards
  • Multicultural, multi-ethnic perspectives

Resources:

  • Virtual hospital tours
  • DeMatteo, A.J., Veltri, D. and S.M. Lee. (1986). The role of a sign language interpreter in psychotherapy.  In M.L. McIntire (Ed.). Interpreting:  The Art of Cross-Cultural Mediation.  Silver Spring:  RID Publications. 135-153
  • RID Standard Practice Papers (Medical, Mental Health)
  • Taber’s encyclopedic medical dictionary

Teaching Approaches:

  1. observation, live and/or virtual tours
  2. readings
  3. structured discussion groups
  4. guest commentaries
  5. independent exploration
  6. demand/control

Back to Top

Module Two: Conditions and Treatments

Students will become familiar with common conditions, procedures and treatments that present in medical and mental health settings.

Content:

Medical   

  • Common conditions 
  • Medical etiologies and syndromes, and impact on communication
    • Developmental disabilities, Usher syndrome, etc.
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Treatments
  • Medication instructions
    • Medications and their impact on language and behavior
  • Procedures
    • common diagnostic procedures, e.g., X-Ray, CT scan, MRI, EKG, lab tests, endoscopies/colonoscopies, mammograms, PSAs, Pap smears, etc.

Mental Health   

  • Common conditions
  • Medical etiologies and syndromes, and impact on communication
    • Developmental disabilities, Usher’s syndrome, anxiety disorders, DSM IV conditions, etc.
  • Abnormal psychology and diagnoses.
  • Intro to psychotherapeutic approaches
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, Family Systems Therapy, etc.
    • Role of the therapeutic alliance
  • Treatments
    • Medication instructions
    • Medications and their impact on language and behavior
  • Childhood trauma and sexual abuse
  • Substance abuse
    • 12 step programs, detox, relapse prevention, etc.
  • Common forensic mental health areas
    • Eg, NGRI, competency to stand trial, etc
  • Diagnoses  DSM IV

Resources:

Teaching Approaches:

  1. readings and structured discussion
  2. lecture
  3. modeling/mentoring
  4. observation
  5. demand/control

Back to Top

Module Three: Language Use in Mental Health/Medical Settings

Continuing to build on content learned in the previous module, students will consider the specific vocabulary and discourse used in medical and mental health discussions.

Content:

  • Vocabulary, both English and ASL

Medical   

  • Medical  instructions
  • Discourse ( including the ways in which medical professionals talk to patients and family members)
  • Medical terminology
  • Sociolinguistic variation (age, gender, race, sexual orientation, SES, etc.)
    • Register
    • Politeness
  • Dysfluency
  • Assessments
  • Sight translation   

Mental Health

  • Discourse (including deliberate ways in which mental health professionals talk to clients and family members)
    • assessing clients at risk of harming self and/or others
  • Sociolinguistic variation
  • Conveying level of nuance and feeling state
  • Emotionally charged language
  • Dysfluency
    • abnormal language features (e.g., rapid speech, rapid subject changes, etc.)
  • Assessments
    • Psychological tests
    • Mental status exam
    • Psychiatric tests
  • Sight translation

Resources:

  • www.deafdoc.org  Definitions of common conditions, presented in ASL
  • www.medicalinterpreting.org Videos in ASL describing common conditions
  • Sign Media, Inc.  AIDS: Overview and Prevention. Simultaneous lecture
  • My Body, My Responsibility: A Health Education Video for Deaf Women.  Deaf Wellness Center
  • 2 Dialectical Behavior Therapy Videos:
    • Opposite Action: An Adaptation from the Deaf Perspective, and
    • Practicing Radical Acceptance: An Adaptation from the Deaf Perspective.  Deaf Wellness Center
  • St. Catherine University DVDs:
    • When the Law Meets Medicine.
    • Stomach This: the Digestive System in ASL and English
    • To the Heart of the Matter: the Cardiovascular System in American Sign Language and English
    • Birth Companions: Perspectives on Doulas and Midwives in ASL and English
    • All in Due Time: Perspectives on Childbirth from Deaf Parents
  • Howard, N., K. Malcolm and D. Still. (1999).Interpreting in a Medical Setting. Four videos including a range of Deaf people talking about personal medical experiences such as treating a skin condition, pregnancy and delivery, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, etc. 

Teaching Approaches:

  1. readings and structured discussion
  2. lecture
  3. modeling/mentoring
  4. guest commentaries
  5. independent exploration

Back to Top

Module Four: Ethics and Boundaries

Students will explore the ethical challenges that arise in medical and mental health settings, and consider how ethical codes are applied. 

Content:

  • Values clarification
    • how might our values affect an interpretation
  • Decision making tools and skills
  • Morals and laws
  • Respect for consumers’ autonomy
  • Conflict of interest
  • Advocacy
    • When/how/who to share knowledge/evidence of possible language dysfluency
    • Referring to outside help/resources
    • Clarify assumptions re typical ASL behaviors (eg, eye gaze, facial affect)
    • Intervention to prevent serious harm (eg., if serious allergy has been overlooked, client talking about harming self or others)
  • Education re role
    • Discuss impact of interpreter on group dynamics
    • Gender issues and client preferences
    • Provide input to Deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing communities
    • Working as a mentor with other interpreters
  • Confidentiality
    • Supervision and professional conferencing
  • Staff vs. freelance
  • Cultural mediation
  • Boundaries
  • Transference and counter-transference

Resources:

  • www.vch.ca/wbp/Docs/Psychotherapy_with_Deaf_Clients_2001.pdf
  • Gish, S. and M. Barnum. Ethics and Decision-Making for Interpreters in Health Care Settings.
  • Mills Stewart, K. and Witter-Merithew, A. The Dimensions of Ethical Decision-Making: A Guided Exploration for Interpreters. 2006 . Sign Media, Inc.: Burtonsville, MD.
  • Gordon, P. and M. Magler. (2008). The Mentor’s Companion. RID Publications.

Teaching Approaches:

  1. case studies and discussion groups
  2. readings
  3. guided discussion groups
  4. guest commentaries
  5. role plays

Back to Top

Module Five: Interpreting Skills

Students will practice the delivery of equivalent messages in medical and mental health settings. They will consider the reasons for using CI and SI, determine when each is appropriate, and practice employing each effectively in these settings.

Content:

  • Preparing for the assignment
  • Management of interaction (e.g., requesting clarification, asking a speaker to pause, etc.)
  • Consecutive skills
  • Simultaneous skills
  • Appropriate decisions re use of CI/SI
  • Conveying meaning 
  • Di and hearing interpreter teams

Medical  

  • Interpreting pain levels
    Use of classifiers and SASSes   

Mental Health

  • Conveying metaphoric meaning
  • Awareness of impact of linguistic choices on therapeutic message
  • Interpret extra-linguistic nuances of therapeutic communication

Resources:

  • www.medicalinterpreting.org - College of St. Catherine’s DVDs:
    • Internal Discussions: An Appointment in Cardiology
    • Internal Discussions: An Appointment in Gastroenterology
    • Hurry Up and Wait: Interpreting a Visit to an Emergency Department
    • Take These Meds: Interpreting Visits to a Pharmacy
  • Treehouse Video: Interpreting in Mental Health Settings.
  • Howard, N., K. Malcolm and D. Still. (1999) Interpreting in a Medical Setting.  A set of four videos including scenarios for consecutive interpreting practice with Deaf people in a range of medical settings, conversing with actual doctors and nurses.  Scenario topics include migraine, back pain, diabetes, abdominal pain, and others.
  • www.asl_interpreting.tripod.com Interpreting for AA Meetings

Teaching Approaches:

  1. lecture
  2. small group practice
  3. video samples
  4. observation/supervision
  5. mentoring
  6. guest commentaries

Back to Top

Module Six: Interpersonal Skills

Students will practice interpersonal skills pertinent to mental health/medical settings, and learn to effectively negotiate relationships with others involved in these settings.

Content:

  • Listening and observation skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Teamwork
  • -working with spoken language interpreters
  • Professional Etiquette
  • Assertiveness
  • DI and hearing interpreter teams

Mental Health

  • Forming therapeutic alliance with therapist and all providers:
    • Pre- and post-sessions
    • Negotiating during therapy session
    • How and when to seek clarification or interrupt or not

Resources:

  • Pollard, R., 1998. Mental Health Interpreting:  A Mentored Curriculum.Rochester, New York: University of Rochester. (manual and videotape)

Teaching Approaches:

  1. readings and structured discussion
  2. mentoring
  3. case studies
  4. role play
  5. observation/supervision

Back to Top


Module Seven:Self-Care and Self-Awareness

This module addresses the importance of self-awareness and self-care, and
prepares students to manage their physical and emotional selves while providing mental health/medical interpreting.

Content:

  • Personal safety
  • Vaccinations
  • Universal precautions, including knowledge of isolation procedures
  • Environmental awareness (e.g., X-Ray)
  • Physical and emotional stamina
  • Awareness of own issues and their potential to affect the interpretation
  • Exploring and managing personal reactions and knowing personal limits
    • Developing somatic awareness and philosophy of detachment
    • Reactions to smells, sights and sounds
    • Both inside and outside of interpreting setting
  • Vicarious trauma
  • Strategies for self-care

Resources:

  • Harvey, Michael. Shielding Yourself from the Perils of Empathy, and The Hazards of Empathy: Vicarious Trauma of Interpreters for the Deaf  www.michaelharvey-phd.com
  • Harvey, M. (2001). Vicarious Emotional Trauma of Interpreters: A Clinical Psychologist’s Perspective. In Journal of Interpretation, 85-98.

Teaching Approaches:

  1. lecture
  2. case studies
  3. mentoring
  4. field research/independent exploration

Back to Top


Module Eight: Professional and Research Skills

This final module guides students into identifying and evaluating research in the field, and applying this to their professional practice. It also fosters the development of a professional identity as a specialist in the area of interpreting in mental health/medical
settings.

Content:

  • Awareness of current interpreting standards
  • Awareness of current health care and mental health practices
  • Legal issues in medical and mental health settings
  • Professional liability insurance
  • Establishment and implementation of annual professional development plans
  • Use of technology to access information
  • Familiarity with research in field
  • Ability to evaluate and apply research to professional practice
  • Commitment to life-long learning
    • Establishing avenues for supervision, debriefing, mentorship, collegial support and consultation

Resources:

  • Angellini, C. (2002). The visible co-participant: The interpreter’s role in doctor-patient encounters.  In Metzger, M., S. Collins, V. Dively, and R. Shaw, Eds. From topic boundaries to omission: New research on interpretation. Gallaudet University Press: Washington, D.C.
  • Metzger,M. (1999). Sign language interpreting: Deconstructing the myth of neutrality. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
  • RID Standard Practice papers
  • www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/pewcomm/html

Teaching Approaches:

  1. lecture
  2. guided readings and discussion groups
  3. mentoring
  4. guest commentaries

Back to Top


St. Catherine University – CATIE Center; NURIEC; NCIEC.  2008
Karen Malcolm, Curriculum Consultant.  Laurie Swabey and Cathy Cogen, Project Directors.

 

Scenarios for Role Play

by Karen Malcolm

The following scenarios are presented for assistance in incorporating healthcare interpreting into interpreter education programs.  For more context on how to use these scenarios, please click here.

MEDICAL:  ACID REFLUX | ASTHMA | CAR ACCIDENT | JAW PAIN | RAPID HEART BEAT

ACID REFLUX

Acid Reflux - Doctor

A patient comes to see you complaining of heartburn and acid indigestion. You ask what they do to deal with the problem.  Find out how often this happens….if it is consistently more than 2X a week, it could be GERD (Gastroephageal Reflux Disease).  This is a problem in the esophagus where it doesn’t close properly and stomach acids come back up.  Can lead to bleeding and ulcers, can make swallowing difficult, and can lead to esphogeal cancer.  Treatment:
    •    Use antacids
    •    Stop smoking
    •    Lose weight
    •    Eat small frequent meals
    •    Don’t lie down until 3 hours after meals
If the condition continues, will refer to a specialist to consider surgery as an option

Acid Reflux - Patient

You go to see your doctor because you have been having terrible heartburn after eating.  You used to get it every once in awhile, especially if you ate spicy foods, but in the last month it is happening at least 3 times a week.  You have been using Tums but now they don’t seem to be helping.  You are frustrated that you can’t enjoy eating and worried about what is wrong with you.

Acid Reflux - Interpreter

A Deaf patient is going to their doctor to talk about problems with heartburn, which is happening more and more often.

Back to Top

ASTHMA

Asthma - Doctor

You are seeing a regular patient of yours who is in her/his late 40s. S/he has very bad asthma, which is triggered by dust, smog, smoke and pollen, as well as by any exertion.  S/he uses two different puffers, a green one s/he can use up to four times a day, and an orange one that is only for serious breathing difficulties and should only be used once per day as needed.
You do monthly checks on her/him to make sure s/he doesn’t need to change medication.

Has anything changed since the last visit
How often does s/he use her green puffer, and how often the orange
Suggest s/he refrain from housework, because both the dust and exertion are bad for her/him

Asthma - Patient

You are in your late 40s and have had asthma for most of your adult life.  You see your doctor monthly to check on how you are doing.   Your asthma is triggered by dust, smoke, pollen, and smog, as well as by exertion.  You use two different puffers, a green one you can use up to four times a day, and an orange one that is only for serious breathing difficulties and should only be used once per day as needed.

In last month have been having a hard time—there is a lot of pollen, and also there has been more smog
When you clean your apartment, you get very out of breath, have to use the orange puffer, sometimes two or three times a day
Very important to you to keep you apt. clean and you live alone so who else can do i

Asthma - Interpreter

A Deaf patient in his/her late 40s is going to the doctor for a monthly check up. S/he has asthma and uses two different puffers to manage the condition.

Back to Top

CAR ACCIDENT

Car Accident - Doctor

You are seeing a patient of yours who was in a car accident.   S/he is complaining about bruises on her/his torso and her/his neck hurting.   S/he was struck by an oncoming car when s/he was turning left and her/his airbag deployed

  • When did the accident happen
  • What did s/he do (eg, get treatment at hospital)
  • What is the pain like on a scale of 1 to 10

If s/he complains of sore throat and bad taste in mouth, it is probably because of chemicals and dust in the air bag and will go away
Will need to take pictures of bruises for the insurance company
Will refer her/him to physical therapist but for now need to rest, put ice on neck
Will give her/him pain killers

Car Accident Patient

You are seeing your doctor because you were in a car accident two days ago. You were turning left when an oncoming car struck you and your airbag deployed. You were taken to the hospital and examined, and released that night.

You have a sore neck and sore ribs and abdomen, with bruising.  Also you have a sore throat and bad taste in your mouth and you wonder what that is from. You are worried that maybe you injured something and that has affected your taste buds.

Car Accident - Interpreter

The Deaf patient was in a car accident two days ago…s/he was broadsided while turning left and the airbag deployed. S/he has sore ribs and bruising, and a bad taste in her/his mouth.

Back to Top


JAW PAIN

Jaw pain - Doctor

You are seeing a new patient who is coming in complaining of chronic jaw pain.  You want to determine:

  • Where the pain is
  • When did it first start
  • How long does the pain last when it begins
  • What time of day is it worse
  • Is there anything that makes it worse or better
  • Was there anything that seemed to start the pain
  • What has the patient tried to make the pain less (e.g., medication, hot and cold treatments, etc.)

You may decide to refer the patient to a dental specialist to investigate the possibility of TMJ.

Jaw pain - Patient

You are going to the doctor to seek help with chronic jaw pain.  It is something you have had all your adult life, on and off, but in the last six weeks it has gotten worse and is a throbbing pain.  You find it hard to eat at times. 

You have tried taking Tylenol and that helps the pain lessen but you would like to find out if there is anything you could do that would get rid of the pain.

Jaw pain - Interpreter

The Deaf patient has had jaw pain on and off for year, but recently it has gotten much worse.

Back to Top


RAPID HEART BEAT

Rapid heart beat - Doctor

A patient has come to see you who is complaining of rapid heart beat. You want to find out how often this happens, and what the patient is doing when it occurs.  The patient will need to wear a Holter monitor, which is a portable ECG (electrocardiogram) that will record their heart beat over a 24 hour period.  They will need to keep a chart of what activities they are doing at every point of the day (e.g., walking up a hill, sleeping, showering) so the results of the test can be co-related with activity.  After that, it can be determined how serious the problem is, and medication may be prescribed such as beta blockers or digoxin.

Rapid Heart Beat - Patient

In the last six months, you have sometimes felt like your heart is beating really fast. You are very worried about it. It seems to happen for no reason. When it happens, you lie down and rest and wait for it to stop.  Usually it goes away after 5 minutes but in the last 2 weeks it has happened twice when it lasted for up to 15 minutes.

You are very nervous about what might be wrong.

Rapid heart beat - Interpreter

The Deaf patient has been experiencing times of rapid heartbeat and is very worried about it.

Back to Top



 

Ethical Dilemmas in Medical Settings

created by Karen Malcolm

The following are a series of ethical dilemmas that can be used in Interpreter Education Program.  For more information on the context for how to use these, click here.

Dilemma 1

You have interpreted for a 15-year-old Deaf girl in various settings, and she recently confided in you that she was pregnant, and hadn’t told her mother yet because, “my mom will kill me! She doesn’t even know I’ve had sex yet.”

A few weeks later you are at the hospital where the girl is attending with her mother. She has been having back pain and she has been sent for an X-Ray.  The technician asks the girl if there is any chance she might be pregnant. She glances up at her mother, then responds, “no, I’m not pregnant.”

Dilemma 2

You interpret for a Deaf couple.  The wife has pancreatic cancer.  The doctor tells them that they have exhausted all possibilities, and no other treatment is suggested at this point. He tells them to go home, and enjoy what  time remains with their family.  The couple leaves looking very happy and smiling.  You have a strong sense that they did not understand that this was actually bad news.

Dilemma 3

You have been interpreting for a Deaf couple who are expecting their third child.  They have had tests done that confirm the sex of the child is female.  They start talking about this fact with the doctor, and it becomes clear that they want to abort the child because they already have two girls, and really want to have a boy. You find this very disturbing and are opposed to this kind of action.

Dilemma 4

A Deaf man with hepatitis has been told not to drink because it will worsen his condition. You see him at a community event, drinking quite a few beers. He approaches you and says,  hey, remember the doctor told me to stop drinking, so I stopped drinking scotch and now I just have beer.

 

Integrating Healthcare into Interpreter Education Programs

by Karen Malcolm

There are very few specialized programs preparing interpreters to work in healthcare settings, and yet many graduates of interpreter education programs will work in these settings. The following suggestions offer some ways that healthcare interpreting can be incorporated into existing interpreter education programs.

ELECTIVE COURSES

Students with elective courses in their program should be encouraged to consider taking the following courses (exact titles will vary by institution):

Medical interpreting:
Introduction to Biology
Human Anatomy and Physiology
Medical Terminology
Developmental Psychology
Death and Dying
Ethics and Healthcare

Mental Health Interpreting:
Introduction to Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Alcohol and Drug Addictions

INTEGRATING HEALTHCARE INTERPRETING INTO THE EXISTING CURRICULUM

Ethical Decision-Making in Healthcare Settings

Ethical discussions are an integral part of every interpreter education curriculum.  Discussion of ethical dilemmas and/or case studies focused on healthcare dilemmas can be incorporated into classroom discussion.  For some sample dilemmas, click here.  

Another useful resource is the Treehouse video entitled Interpreting in Mental Health Settings. A number of scenarios are presented where the interpreter faces a dilemma in a mental health setting, followed by a commentary by the narrator.  A study manual accompanies the video. To obtain these materials, click here.

Local interpreters who work in healthcare settings, who are willing to be contacted, could be presented with an ethical dilemma by students and engaged in dialogue about their preferred course of action, and why they would select that option.  These discussions could be brought back to the classroom to share with the larger group.

Self Care

Dr. Michael Harvey is a psychologist in private practice in the Boston area, who has worked extensively with Deaf and hard of hearing clients. He continues to research vicarious trauma and interpreters, and the ways that interpreters are affected by their interpreting experiences. His website, www.michaelharvey-phd.com, offers valuable insights into the potential challenges interpreters face and can be used to generate discussion about the ways that healthcare interpreting could lead to vicarious traumatization.

Language development

Students working in healthcare settings need to develop their skill in discussing healthcare issues in both ASL and English.  One resource for developing English language skills is the website English for Medical Purposes (www.emp-tmu.net), a free resource offered by the Tokyo Medical University. It offers an extensive list of medical interviews conducted in English, which can be used for developing familiarity with medical discourse.  For programs teaching the Demand-Control Schema, an EIPI analysis could be conducted on an interview.  The participants are Australian so there may be some challenges engaging with a different dialect of English than an American one.  While the resource is free, you will need to register and create an account in order to access it.

This website offers some resources that can be used to facilitate language learning both in ASL and English.  One of these is the on-line resource, entitled “Body Language”, which can be found under “Professional Development”, then “Workshops” (or click here).  This on-line program is designed so that interpreters work in cohorts, and involves reading about health conditions, looking at diagrams that describe the condition, and then seeing the condition discussed in ASL.  Students are able to tape themselves discussing the same condition, and then share their work with their cohort.

Another resource on this site can be found under “Medical Resources”, then “University of Minnesota, WEBANATOMY (or click here).  This site can be used to develop an understanding of anatomy and includes self-tests as well as games that can involve several participants.

Interpreting skills development

There are a number of interpreting skills development resources available on this site under “Professional Development”, “Independent Study”.  These cover topics such as the digestive system, cardiovascular health, taking medication, pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and interpreting in the Emergency Department. Several of these are available on line. These include both language development activities and interpreting skills activities.  Students can practice interpreting interactions, and also analyze modeled interpretations.

Another useful activity involves role play. Students can practice live interpretations related to healthcare topics.  Students can take turns role playing the participants, so that one student plays the Deaf patient or client, one plays the hearing practitioner, and another student interprets.  It is helpful for the “Deaf” patient to use earplugs or some other means of blocking out what is said, so s/he is actually responding to the interpretation. Similarly, the “healthcare practitioner” should avert his/her eyes so as to also be responding to the interpretation.

These role plays are more effective with actual Deaf participants and actual healthcare providers.  If your institution has any kind of healthcare programs (for example, nursing, psychiatric nursing, counseling, etc.), consider approaching them to involve students in these role plays. It benefits the interpreting students to practice with knowledgeable participants, and also benefits students in the healthcare programs to learn about working with interpreters.  It is also useful to have Deaf people participate in these role plays.  A small honorarium might be offered, or some other access to services at the institution as compensation for their time.

Prepare role play cards to hand to each participant (Deaf person, healthcare provider, interpreter).  (Note: the Deaf person could also be the healthcare provider, but given that this is less common, the majority of the role plays will likely still have the Deaf person as the recipient of service.) Participants look only at their own card, because there may be different goals for each of the participants.  They agree who will make the first utterance, and then continue for approximately 10 minutes, being as realistic as possible.  There should be several observers who can offer observations and ask questions afterwards.

For some sample role plays, click here.



 

Moores UCSD Cancer Center ASL Oncology Interpreter Training Program

by the Deaf Community Outreach Cancer Education department at UCSD

 The University of California San Diego's Deaf Community Outreach Cancer Education department is currently developing an Oncology Training Program for ASL Interpreters.

Over 200 words related to cancer were identified by a group of five oncologists to be critical terms that needed to be translated into ASL. Signs for these words were created and then reviewed by a series of ASL Consensus Panels at Gallaudet University, San Diego, Oakland, Minnesota, Texas, and Rochester, New York.

After the signs were reviewed and modified, they were captured on video and uploaded onto YouTube for public viewing. We have already uploaded 64 oncology terms that already have ASL signs. For example, the word "mammogram" already has signs. We captured those signs on video and uploaded them onto YouTube.

We are now in the process of uploading all of the final-agreed upon signs from the ASL Consensus Panels. We welcome your feedback on the signs that have been translated from English to ASL by posting your comments and giving each sign a "rating" using the five star system. Five stars means "you like it and will use it" and one star means "you don't like it and wouldn't use it."

We have also developed several training modules that contain information about the different types of cancers, teaching interpreters different aspects of each cancer: statistics, overview, risk factors, causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment.

The training program is currently under development and will be ready within a year. The UCSD Cancer Center is collaborating with the American Cancer Society on obtaining the most accurate and current information about cancer. This program is offered online, seeks volunteer participants from throughout the USA, and can be used to fulfill continuing education requirements for ASL interpreting certification.

During this training program, interpreters will:

* Review 200+ oncology terms explained in ASL
* Complete 8 cancer educational modules offered in written English and ASL
* Evaluate ease of use and program content
* Complete a variety of surveys throughout the training to measure the program's effectiveness

Our research team at UCSD has created a Facebook group for the training program called "ASL Oncology Training Program for Interpreters. " Interpreters wishing to participate in the training program can join the Facebook group so that they can be informed of all the latest developments.

If you are interested in our online oncology interpreting program, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We look forward to hearing from you!

 
More Articles...
  • «
  •  Start 
  •  Prev 
  •  1 
  •  2 
  •  Next 
  •  End 
  • »
Page 1 of 2
ncieclogo2.gif

Sponsored by

Upcoming Events