Role and Ethics in Healthcare Interpreting in Turkey

Abstract

The objective of this study, which was designed as part of a larger study, is to analyze the healthcare interpreter's behaviour at micro-level in relation to ethics at macro-level, constituting an example of fieldwork in interpreting studies. Thus, the study consists of two levels of analysis, aiming at providing an overview of the field based on real-life data. In accordance with the fieldwork strategy, which adopts an approach that consists of watching, asking, and recording, the focus is on naturally occurring data, consisting of interviews with fourteen healthcare interpreters, participant observation at healthcare settings, and the micro-analysis of three interpreted doctor -patient interviews out of twenty-seven interpreted doctor -patient interviews. Interpreter behaviour is analyzed in relation to a discussion on (lack of) codes of ethics and conduct and national standards in healthcare settings in Turkey. This study reveals the lack of an explicit job description and a lack of codes of ethics/ conduct in Turkey. This causes challenges in practice for healthcare providers and interpreters as well as patients and implies a risk for quality of service. Since two interpreters interviewed were also those whose recordings were cited, the findings also point to a possible gap between what the interpreters say they do and what they actually do during interpretation at hospitals. One of the objectives of the present study is to put forward this gap.