Transcending medical consultations

Abstract

The role of healthcare interpreters has attracted much interest over the years, with particular emphasis on the distance between an invisible, uninvolved prescribed behaviour that contrasts with the interpreters’ behaviour in practice as active participants. However, much of the existing literature focuses on unfolding medical consultations where providers, patients and interpreters are simultaneously present, often overlooking situations when interpreters are left alone with patients. This involves areas of special role complexity in which interpreters must choose whether or not to become visible to the patient in what has been defined as the in-between (Shaffer, 2020). This contribution aims to observe the healthcare interpreter’s role beyond the very act of the medical interview. Inspired by Shaffer (2020), we examine 66 moments “in-between” involving a sample of six interpreters (including four student interns) that took place prior, mid and end of consultations in a Spanish hospital. Rather than staying invisible, our analysis reveals that interpreters of the sample often participate in moments in-between (89.39%) to enact different roles (i.e., companion/confidant, advocate for the profession, mediator, institutional navigator, and healthcare ambassador). Among other aspects, triggers for role adoption in the in-between space include preventing conflict and deploying empathy. In this study, the behaviour of interpreters has demonstrated to influence the subsequent development of medical consultations (e.g., saving time or facilitating history taking). In light of preliminary findings that must be interpreted considering our research context, the next step is to examine how the healthcare interpreter’s behaviour in the in-between zone can facilitate interprofessional collaboration to provide patients with quality-care.