ABSTRACT
Interpreter-mediated medical encounters represent an interdisciplinary area of research as it highlights the intersection of languages, cultures, and medicine, all of which entail distinct values and norms. In the field of interpreting studies, healthcare interpreting is also understood as part of the larger category of community interpreting Interpreter-mediated medical encounters, represent a unique form of interpreting activity. The interpreter, as part of the healthcare team, is obligated to honor the organizational objectives in providing quality care that enhances the patients' health outcomes. The challenge faced by healthcare providers is that although interpreters are present because of a lack of a common language shared by the provider and the patient, the impacts of interpreters are not limited to language and language barriers. The physical presence of an interpreter inevitably changes the interpersonal dynamics of provider-patient interactions. The Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP), one of the first and leading training programs for healthcare interpreters, proposed four roles of healthcare interpreters.
