The Use of Interpreters in Medical Education: A Narrative Literature Review

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a narrative literature review on the use of interpreters in medical education. A careful search strategy was based on keywords and inclusion and exclusion criteria, and used the databases PubMed, Medline Ovid, Google Scholar, Scopus, CINAHL, and EBSCO. The search strategy resulted in 20 articles, which reflected the research aim and were reviewed on the basis of an interpretive approach. They were then critically appraised in accordance with the “critical assessment skills programme” guidelines. Results showed that the use of interpreters in medical education as part of the curriculum is scarce, but students have been trained in how to work with interpreters when interviewing patients to fully develop their skills. The study highlights the importance of integrating the use of interpreters in medical curricula, proposes a framework for achieving this, and suggests pertinent research questions for enriching cultural competence.

Cultural Competence in Healthcare and Healthcare Education

“…The use of interpreters in medical education was discussed in Constantinou et al's [21] literature review of 20 papers, which showed that the use of interpreters as part of medical curricula was scarce, although students were trained in how to work with interpreters in programmes largely outside their curriculum. The trainings showed that students improved their skills and helped them provide better care to patients.…”