14. Achieving quality in health care interpreting
-
Ilse Blignault
Abstract
The cultural and linguistic diversity of Australian society presents an ongoing challenge to the health care system. The 30th anniversary of the New South Wales Health Care Interpreter Service (HCIS) provided stimulus to reflect on the interpreter’s contribution to improved health care and better health outcomes, from the viewpoint of the interpreters themselves. This paper, based on an examination of case studies prepared by eighteen staff at one HCIS centre in metropolitan Sydney, highlights the importance of technical skills, a professional approach and experience in achieving quality in health care interpreting. Dealing successfully with the scope and challenges of the interpreter role, and being a valued member of the health care team, leads to job satisfaction which also leads to increased quality.
Abstract
The cultural and linguistic diversity of Australian society presents an ongoing challenge to the health care system. The 30th anniversary of the New South Wales Health Care Interpreter Service (HCIS) provided stimulus to reflect on the interpreter’s contribution to improved health care and better health outcomes, from the viewpoint of the interpreters themselves. This paper, based on an examination of case studies prepared by eighteen staff at one HCIS centre in metropolitan Sydney, highlights the importance of technical skills, a professional approach and experience in achieving quality in health care interpreting. Dealing successfully with the scope and challenges of the interpreter role, and being a valued member of the health care team, leads to job satisfaction which also leads to increased quality.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- 1. Introduction. Quality in interpreting 1
-
Part I. A shared responsibility
- 2. Forensic interpreting 13
- 3. The tension between adequacy and acceptability in legal interpreting and translation 37
- 4. A discourse of danger and loss 55
- 5. Is healthcare interpreter policy left in the seventies? 71
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Part II. Investigations and innovations in quality interpreting
- 6. Interpreter ethics versus customary law 85
- 7. A shared responsibility in the administration of justice 99
- 8. Interpreting for the record 119
- 9. Court interpreting in Basque 135
- 10. Community interpreting in Spain 149
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Part III. Pedagogy, ethics and responsibility in interpreting
- 11. Toward more reliable assessment of interpreting performance 171
- 12. Quality in healthcare interpreter training 187
- 13. What can interpreters learn from discourse studies? 201
- 14. Achieving quality in health care interpreting 221
- 15. Research ethics, interpreters and biomedical research 235
- Contributors 251
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- 1. Introduction. Quality in interpreting 1
-
Part I. A shared responsibility
- 2. Forensic interpreting 13
- 3. The tension between adequacy and acceptability in legal interpreting and translation 37
- 4. A discourse of danger and loss 55
- 5. Is healthcare interpreter policy left in the seventies? 71
-
Part II. Investigations and innovations in quality interpreting
- 6. Interpreter ethics versus customary law 85
- 7. A shared responsibility in the administration of justice 99
- 8. Interpreting for the record 119
- 9. Court interpreting in Basque 135
- 10. Community interpreting in Spain 149
-
Part III. Pedagogy, ethics and responsibility in interpreting
- 11. Toward more reliable assessment of interpreting performance 171
- 12. Quality in healthcare interpreter training 187
- 13. What can interpreters learn from discourse studies? 201
- 14. Achieving quality in health care interpreting 221
- 15. Research ethics, interpreters and biomedical research 235
- Contributors 251
- Index 253
