When you ask healthcare providers to give some examples of when they showed compassion to a patient, you may hear a story of a nurse who spent extra time, the time they did not have, in a patient’s room when the patient was frail, scared and lonely. A doctor might tell you about a home visit they made to a patient who was struggling to make it to appointments amidst a sea of health challenges and life worries. A physical therapist might share a time when a patient everyone was scared of cried when they talked about all the losses they suffered, prompted by thoughtful questions from their physical therapist and their genuine interest in the person in front of them. But what about medical interpreters? The way we show compassion may not look like the examples above. In fact, our ethical guidelines discourage us from staying with patients alone, to help us better maintain professional boundaries, and they certainly don’t allow for independent home visits, or for solicitation of overly personal information from patients. So is there room for showing compassion as a medical interpreter? How do we walk the line between being empathetic while maintaining role boundaries and impartiality? I believe we as medical interpreters can still demonstrate compassion within their role boundaries. Here are some examples:
🧏Active listening and being present
I find that sometimes my thoughts may want to drift away, especially when I have to interpret something upsetting. In my daily life, I’ve been known to fast-forward TV shows or movies when something violent is happening; this is clearly not an option when I’m interpreting. In fact, situations when somebody is receiving bad news or sharing something traumatic is precisely the time to listen extra carefully so that patients or their loved ones can have all the information they need to make informed decisions or to start the grieving process, and so that the patient’s anguish can be shared with someone who can help. If you find your mind drifting into thoughts about the situation (“Oh no! This is awful! I can’t believe this is happening to them! Oh wait, what did the doctor just say?”), consider learning some techniques that can help ground you in the here and now and focus on interpretation. I personally find taking notes helpful – even if the parties speak in relatively short sentences, it allows me to focus on the task at hand and gives me a concrete object to look at.
- Ideas for grounding yourself and other wellness tools (scroll down to resources and worksheets): MasterWord Wellness Connection
- Read more about taking care of yourself: Self-Care for Medical Interpreters
👩💼Staying calm and professional in all circumstances
There is a video I use when I teach a class about vicarious trauma for medical interpreters. It’s a video clip from a program called CrimeWatchDaily and depicts a phone call that a child makes to 911 to report a domestic violence incident between her parents. The video serves to showcase the variety of upsetting/shocking/traumatic situations that an interpreter may find themselves interpreting in, but every time we watch it, several students inevitably zero in not on the little girl, but on the 911 operator. As the girl emotionally describes her dad hurting her mom, and at some point, herself, and frantically asks for help, the 911 operator calmly asks clarifying questions and gives instructions on staying safe. Some students marvel at how calm the operator sounds; some remark that the operator’s voice almost sounds cold. Here’s the thing though – what would happen if the operator started getting upset too, if their emotions matched those of the little girl, if they started crying? While this may be considered a display of empathy and compassion, it would not help the family experiencing an emergency. However, when the operator asks the right questions in the right order so that they can get the information they need, they are able to dispatch help even as they continue talking to the caller. Similarly, the best thing an interpreter can do to help the patient/client, no matter the circumstances and challenges they are facing, is to interpret to the best of their ability, in a professional and collected manner – so that the patients may get the help that they need.
If you are curious about the video, you can watch it here. TW: domestic violence.
Other examples of how interpreters can exhibit compassion through their professionalism include arriving on time if interpreting in person, dressing appropriately, and maintaining a respectful attitude towards both patients and healthcare providers.
🙍 Conveying all nuances of a message
In particular, the tone of voice. There are so many things that can get lost in translation (and some due to the imperfect communication technology): the crack in the patient’s voice when they talk about their pain, whether physical or spiritual, the warmth a nurse radiates when reassuring the patient, the uncertainty in the family member’s gestures as they sign their agreement to a course of action for their loved one… These are expressions of our humanity, and making sure every nuance gets conveyed is the most compassionate thing we as interpreters can do. What about bad language, you might ask? What if someone is annoyed, angry, downright furious? Again, helping parties execute communicative autonomy so that they can say what they would like to say, regardless of the content, is absolutely the right thing to do.
- Read more about communicative autonomy: Communicative Autonomy—The Interpreter’s North Star
🙋 Displaying cultural sensitivity
Understanding and respecting cultural differences is essential for effective communication in healthcare settings. Interpreters can show compassion by acknowledging and respecting cultural norms, beliefs, and practices while facilitating communication between patients and healthcare providers. These are, of course, the basics of the ethical guidelines for interpreters – what’s important is HOW you demonstrate cultural sensitivity. The interpreter should gently point out the possibility that a cultural nuance may be at play, and invite the parties to discuss the issue further, rather than assuming that this is happening and offering up explanations straight away.
By incorporating these approaches into their practice, medical interpreters can demonstrate compassion while still adhering to their role boundaries and ensuring accurate communication between patients and healthcare providers.
- Learn more about cultural sensitivity: Cultural Brokering & Advocacy – Interpreting for Patients with Emotional Trauma
🙌 I would love to hear from you! What does showing compassion look like to you? Share in the comments below or by reaching out to me using the Contact tab in the menu at the top of the page.
👉 More from the Medical Interpreter Blog:
- For book recommendations for medical interpreters, click here.
- For podcast recommendations for medical interpreters, see here.
- For recommendations of TV shows for medical interpreters, click here.
- To learn about self-care for medical interpreters, click here.
- For resources related to idioms for medical idioms click here and here.
- For a collection of practice resources for medical interpreters, click here.
- For resources related to note-taking, click here.
- For practice activities for developing your note-taking skills, click here.
- For ideas on glossary building, click here.
- For recommendations for Russian-language podcasts and books click here and here.
- For resources related to interpreting in mental health setting, click here.
- For emergency room interpreting: essential knowledge and preparedness, click here.
- To learn about interpreting in spiritual care encounters, click here.
- For a collection of resources related to virology, click here.
- For a collection of resources related to respiratory care, click here.
- For resources related to cancer care, click here.
- To learn about interpreting humor and jokes, click here.
- To learn about other interpreter blogs, podcasts etc., click here.
- To learn about pre-session for medical interpreters, click here.
✨ New! I just launched two self-paced CEU courses, accredited for CEUs by CCHI, NBCMI/IMIA and WA DSHS. Learn more and register here!
✉️ Want to get in touch? Contact me
🙋♀️ More about the author: About Yuliya Speroff
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