Communication
CPSA · Communication · Information giving
Consulting through an interpreter
A professional interpreter, not a family member, and you speak to the patient throughout. Doubling the time and halving the sentence length is most of the technique.
The framework
Before
- Book a professional interpreter — telephone or in person. Do not use a relative for anything clinical or sensitive; they filter, and they may be part of the problem.
- Brief the interpreter: purpose, sensitivity, that you want a faithful translation rather than a summary.
- Allow roughly double the time.
During
- Seat so you face the patient. Address the PATIENT in the second person, not the interpreter in the third.
- Short sentences, one idea at a time, no idiom, no jargon, then pause.
- Watch the patient’s face while the interpreter speaks — that is where the information is.
Checking
- Teach-back through the interpreter. Ask the patient to say the plan in their own words.
- If a long exchange happens between interpreter and patient, ask what was said.
After
- Document that an interpreter was used, and which language. Offer written information in their language.
Phrases that work
- “Could you tell me what has been troubling you?” — to the patient, not “ask her what is wrong”.
- “I would like to use a professional interpreter so that nothing gets lost. Would that be alright?”
- “I noticed you spoke for a while there — could you tell me what she said?”
- “Can you tell me, in your own words, what you are going to do when you get home?”
Pitfalls that lose marks
- Using a family member — especially a child — for anything sensitive.
- Speaking to the interpreter in the third person, which excludes the patient from their own consultation.
- Long compound sentences and idiom.
- Not documenting that an interpreter was used.
- Assuming a nod means comprehension.