If you speak English, you probably take a few things for granted when going to the doctor. You know you will be able to express what’s wrong with you and that you will be able to understand when they explain your diagnosis. If you need to take medication, you will be able to understand how much of it you should take, and how to talk to your pharmacist. If you have any bad side effects from the treatment, you’ll be able to talk to your doctor and figure out an alternate treatment.
The United States has very advanced medical technology, but there are many people who live here and are not able to take advantage of it. Why? Because they don’t speak English fluently enough to communicate with their doctor.
Difficulties Of Interpretation
We live in a diverse country. Many first generation immigrants, especially older people who are susceptible to illness, do not speak English fluently enough to understand a complex medical diagnosis.
Often, younger children are called in to interpret, but this is not a good solution. First of all, children don’t always have the depth of understanding needed to accurately explain a diagnosis or treatment. Second of all, this has historically led to some awful situations. Imagine being the interpreter between your mother and her doctor and having to explain to her that she has cancer.
Because of the potentially emotionally traumatic effects of using children as medical interpreters, hospitals are moving towards banning the practice.
Cultural Differences
Making interpretation even more complex is the problem of cultural differences. In Anne Fadiman’s groundbreaking book, The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down, Fadiman documents one Hmong family’s struggle with the American medical system.
The family’s daughter had a treatable, if severe, medical condition. She had seizures that doctors told the family could eventually lead to brain damage. Despite this, the family didn’t give their daughter the medication doctors insisted she needed.
What this nuanced book explains is how the cultural differences between the doctors and the Hmong caused a failure of interpretation – even though the family wanted their daughter to get better, they saw that the drugs made her act differently, so they stopped giving them to her.
This book underscores the importance of “cultural brokers” over translators. Rather than simply translate word for word, translators need to explain the situation in a way everyone will understand.
A Clear Solution
For all these reasons, hospitals are moving more towards the practice of hiring a lot of interpreters who not only speak multiple languages fluently, but also are at least somewhat steeped in the culture they are translating for. This will have the best outcome for patients and doctors alike.
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