# Educating Medical Students on Deaf-Hearing Interpreter Teams: A Virtual Patient Panel Experience

## TL;DR

Medical students participated in a virtual panel with Deaf interpreters to learn about communication and cultural challenges faced by d/Deaf patients.

## Contribution

A novel virtual patient panel experience to educate medical students on Deaf culture and interpreter collaboration.

## Key findings

- Students emphasized the importance of communication and cultural competency in caring for d/Deaf patients.
- Themes included the role of interpreters, challenges in Deaf healthcare, and suggestions for improvement.
- Student reflections showed the clinical relevance of learning about Deaf culture and interpreter use.

## Abstract

Communication and cultural differences render d/Deaf patients vulnerable to poorer health outcomes when compared to their hearing peers. Interventions designed to address these inequities are a growing focus in medical education, with virtual platforms (e.g., Zoom) becoming increasingly popular. This article describes the implementation of a one-hour virtual patient panel with an interactive question-and-answer session between a certified Deaf interpreter (CDI) and second-year pre-clerkship medical students at the authors’ institution. Following this discussion, students were encouraged to share one or two key takeaways from the session through a survey link. These results were analyzed using generative artificial intelligence to summarize key themes. There were 41 respondents, with a response rate of 15%. The key themes that emerged are grouped under the following thematic headings: role of interpreters and communication; insights about d/Deaf culture; challenges and experiences; and suggestions for improvement. Students’ takeaways emphasized themes of communication, cultural competency, and access to care. Student reflections highlighted the novelty and clinical applicability of lessons learned from the panel for their future practice. Further work in medical education is needed to adequately expose healthcare trainees to Deaf culture, particularly how to work with interpreters and CDIs in the clinical environment.