Working Effectively with Medical Interpreters
Tips to ensure clear and accurate communication with patients from all cultures
Overview
The use of medical interpreters has become a critical conduit for people with limited English proficiency to obtain healthcare. Healthcare providers have increasingly been partnering with medical interpreters and as such, learning how to work effectively with one another is important. Despite the overall dearth of research in this area, critical papers, informed by clinical experience from both provider and interpreter perspectives, can help inform mental health clinicians about the roles of each party and how the triadic relationship can be facilitated in the intersubjective clinical space.
This presentation will review the distinct roles of interpreters and providers in the therapeutic space and will illuminate some of the cognitive and psychological factors at play in the interpretation process and the triadic relationship. Strategies for working more effectively will be discussed.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
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Explain the distinct roles of medical interpreters and healthcare providers in the clinical space.
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Discuss more fully how interpreters “interpret”.
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Review strategies for partnering more effectively with medical interpreters.
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Articulate what the process of medical interpretation consists of (content, function, impact, context).
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Explain how the interpreter should and can "change gears" depending on the goal of the medical encounter.
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Review how valuable a post session with a medical interpreter can be.
Curriculum
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Introduction
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Working Effectively with Medical Interpreters
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Conclusion
About this course
- $35.00
- 1.5 hours of video content
Faculty Instructors
Margaret Lanca, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Staff Psychologist, Allied Health Professional Staff, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance; Director of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Wellness and Director of Population Behavioral Health Innovation, Cambridge Health Alliance
Maggie Lanca is the Director of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Wellness and Director of Population Behavioral Health Innovation at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). She is also Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In Neuropsychology, she directs the service and oversees training of the neuropsychology postdoctoral fellows. Her clinical work is specialized in provision of multicultural neuropsychological assessments, where she has worked with interpreters in neuropsychology for the past 20 years, as well as co-authoring book chapters and speaking regionally and nationally on working effectively with interpreters in neuropsychology. As the daughter of Portuguese immigrants to Montreal, Canada Maggie learned to speak Portuguese, English and French fluently and later studied Spanish in university. She developed an interest in the bilingual brain early on and went on to complete her doctorate in Cognitive Psychology at Northeastern University, specializing in psycholinguistics and the relevance of language in acculturation. She re-specialized in clinical psychology as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and then completed her neuropsychology residency at Harvard Medical School. She is past President of the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, Division 40 of the American Psychological Association, and Massachusetts Psychological Association and the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society.
Isabel Pinto-Franco, CoreCHI
Medical Interpreter, Cambridge Health Alliance
Isabel Pinto-Franco holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures (German and English Studies) from the University of Coimbra (Portugal). She is a staff interpreter at the Cambridge Health Alliance, taught Interpreting II and Medical Interpreting at Boston University for 13 years and also works as a translator. Isabel has participated as a panelist as well as a presenter in several interpreting conferences in the U.S. as well as Portugal. Earlier this year, she taught an intensive medical interpreting course at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She is a member of the ATA (American Translators Association), IMIA (International Medical Interpreters Association) and holds a CoreCHI certification by the National Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters. She was born and raised in Coimbra, Portugal and has been working as a full-time medical interpreter for the past 28 years.
Continuing Education
Psychologists: Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Continuing Education in Psychiatry is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Continuing Education in Psychiatry maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course offers 1.5 continuing education credits.
Social Workers: Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Continuing Education in Psychiatry is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an Approved Provider #0038 of continuing education for licensed social workers. This course offers 1.5 contact hours. Social workers from other states should check with their individual board to confirm credit reciprocity with NY.
Counselors: Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Continuing Education in Psychiatry has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5444. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Continuing Education in Psychiatry is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. This course meets the requirements for 1.50 continuing education hours, and is also applicable for Commonwealth of Massachusetts Counseling/Allied Mental Health accreditation for 1.50 credits.