The Linguist

FEATURES Chartered Institute of Linguists AUTUMN 2025 The Linguist 23 WHY MEDICAL INTERPRETING IS DIFFERENT With remote phone interpreting now prevalent in medical settings, face-to-face interpreting is usually scheduled only for hospital-based invasive medical examinations, procedures, treatments and consultations for a diagnosis or terminally ill patient, if not for patients on long-term medications with serious medical issues. For most appointments, the interpreter is required to wait with a patient due to constricted waiting areas and a lack of designated areas for interpreters. Empathy in a medical setting goes beyond the act of interpreting during consultations alone. It reflects on how one converses and deals with a patient for the entire interaction. Raffaela Merlini and Mariadele Gatti argue that context-specific empathy enhances communication and patient care. 3 Interpreters employ 'situational integration', adapting and responding to the needs, emotions and behaviour of a patient and service provider, and engaging as a situated participant in the emotional and relational atmosphere of the medical encounter. Their presence may make them mirror emotions and adjust their voice accordingly, requiring emotional intelligence. Nicole Lan and Ester Leung demonstrate how trainee interpreters use non-verbal cues to convey sensitive issues through voice modulation, silent pauses, facial expressions and body orientation, signalling attentiveness and compassion. 4 For example, while working with terminally ill patients, interpreters may follow cases for months, spend hours in sessions of chemotherapy or other medical procedures, and interpret discussions of the prognosis, including the likelihood of end of life, as well as gently informing the patient that treatment options are palliative. In chemotherapy sessions, interpreters are left with patients during intervals between one station and the next until the treatment is completed for the day. It is not uncommon for health professionals to tell interpreters to 'have a chat' with patients in situations such as this. An empathetic approach may involve engaging in innocuous conversation or simply listening, offering the patient a sense of solace without breaching ethical boundaries, especially by refraining from offering recommendations and advice. It is of paramount importance to distinguish this from legal settings, where having a chat is deemed inappropriate and may have unwarranted influence over the interpreting or lead the interpreter to form prejudice, as well as constituting a potential breach of professional ethics. EMPATHY IN PRACTICE As opposed to the outdated and rigid conduit model of conveying messages from A to B and vice versa, medical interpreting is not about staying completely detached and speaking only during consultations or when directly required. Small talk could be culturally appropriate and make a patient feel comfortable in using an interpreter. To help clients gain confidence in the use of a third party, interpreters should always introduce themselves and their role as interpreter, emphasising communication and confidentiality. If they are unable to do so when the consultation begins, they can rectify this at the first available opportunity. The significant idea here is to put the patient first. It is for the patient that the interpreter is appointed to work. It is the patient who decides what questions to ask. The patient is at the core of the service. It is common for patients to ask interpreters questions while waiting for appointments. This could be avoided by informing them that medical questions must be asked of the health professionals involved, and assuring them that they will get ample opportunity to do so during their consultation. During one assignment, a patient asked me, "Am I allowed to ask many questions? The previous interpreter told me only to listen and not ask questions." It is not unusual to have a misunderstanding like this, but it is in the interpreters' interest to ensure that all the patient's questions are asked. When patients get nervous and worried, I attempt to interpret as calmly as I can, making sure they understand the procedure as clearly as possible. On one assignment, an elderly patient insisted that I stay both pre- and post- heart surgery. In such cases, the patient may require our services to sign consents, have brief consultations with surgeons, anaesthetists and physiotherapists, and IN SAFE HANDS A compassionate approach is vital as interpreters sit with patients while waiting for appointments or between treatments IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK.COM © PEXELS

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