When working to gain your medical interpreter certificate, you will learn that a medical interpreter’s main job is to ensure that doctors and patients who speak different languages understand each other. But what happens if the patient says something extremely out of the ordinary? Should the interpreter repeat it, even if it will surprise the doctor?
The answer to this question is, of course, yes. The medical interpreter is responsible for accurately, and seriously relaying all spoken correspondence between the patient and doctor, no matter how strange it may sound. If the doctor needs an explanation, the interpreter should facilitate the discussion between her and the patient, not try to explain by themself.
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Medical Interpreting & Strange Things People Say To Doctors
