Communicating With Patients Who Prefer a Language Other than English: A Curriculum on Interpreter Use for Medical Students

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new curriculum to train medical students on using professional interpreters when communicating with patients who prefer languages other than English.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel hybrid curriculum combining online and in-person training to improve medical students' use of medical interpreters.

Findings

The curriculum significantly improved students' self-reported knowledge and confidence in using interpreters.

90% of students reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the curriculum.

The hybrid approach was effective and efficient for integrating interpreter training into medical education.

Abstract

Patients who prefer a language other than English (LOE) often face significant barriers in health care. Although national mandates require access to professional medical interpreters (MIs), studies indicate that interpreter services are frequently underutilized or used inappropriately. Moreover, many medical schools lack a formal curriculum dedicated to training students on the effective use of MIs.

An educational curriculum was developed for second- and third-year medical students to enhance effective communication using MIs to interact with patients who prefer an LOE. The curriculum included an online module (26 minutes) followed by an in-person workshop (60 minutes) featuring simulated patient encounters with an MI. Pre- and postcourse surveys were administered to assess self-reported knowledge and comfort. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to characterize responses and analyze differences between pre- and postcourse responses.

Over 1 year, 131 medical students participated in the curriculum. The precourse survey was completed by all 131 students, and the postcourse survey by 92 students. Scores on all survey items significantly changed, indicating more frequent or confident behaviors related to interpreter use. Postcourse satisfaction was high, with 90% of respondents reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied with the curriculum.

This educational innovation successfully addressed a critical gap in medical training by introducing a structured curriculum focused on best practices for working with MIs. The hybrid approach of an online module followed by in-person practice was a time- and resource-efficient way to integrate this information into a busy medical student schedule.

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