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Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings: Perspectives on research and training
Edited by Eva N.S. Ng and Ineke H.M. Crezee
[Benjamins Translation Library 151] 2020
► pp. 211–241

Chapter 9
Exploring role expectations of healthcare interpreters in New Zealand

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Reports from practising healthcare interpreters in New Zealand suggest that they and the health professionals they work with often have conflicting understandings of the healthcare interpreter role. This chapter reports on the findings of a series of surveys among health professionals and healthcare interpreters in New Zealand designed to investigate these differences. Separate surveys were posted for health professionals and healthcare interpreters respectively and answers as to role expectations were compared. The survey findings showed that health professionals’ role expectations conflicted with the code of ethics followed by New Zealand trained interpreters in some key areas. It is hoped that these findings may provide insights which can be addressed in interpreter education or in professional development sessions for health professionals working with interpreters.

Keywords: healthcare interpreter role, health interpreting, healthcare interpreter role expectation, interpreter code of ethics, interpreter education, New Zealand healthcare system, interpreter visibility, accuracy, confidentiality, interpreter competence
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction and background
    • 1.1Contextual background that motivated the investigation
  • 2.Literature
    • 2.1Public service interpreting and the issue of invisibility
    • 2.2Issues related to professional healthcare interpreting
    • 2.3Accuracy, impartiality, advocacy, cultural brokering
    • 2.4Healthcare interpreter role in practice
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Surveys
    • 3.2Ethics approval
  • 4.Analysis and findings
    • 4.1Respondents
  • 5.Findings
    • 5.1Interpreter visibility
    • 5.2Confidentiality
    • 5.3Competence
    • 5.4Impartiality
    • 5.5Accuracy
    • 5.6Clarity of role boundaries
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 3 June 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.151.09cre
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