Microlecture 001: The Two Sentence Rule
When I interact with patients, I am so eager to tell them everything they need to know about their medical condition, what I am planning to do, what they need to do and so on. While this is a wonderful thing, when I am dealing with patients with limited health literacy and English fluency, I need to work with a medical interpreter (MI) to communicate with the patient. In communicating with the MI, it is important to follow the two sentence rule. Watch the microlecture to find out about more the two sentence rule.
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 002: Medical interpreter as a Voice Conduit
It can be a bit awkward to figure out how to best to optimally engage the medical interpreter (MI). Is the MI just the “voice” of the patient? Should they transmit only the verbal aspects? What about the nonverbal aspects of what the patient is saying? For example, if the patient is depressed should the MI translate what the patient says with a depressed affect? Does that make the MI a method actor? Also, think about how emotion and social cues vary from culture to culture. For example, think about a highly volatile and emotional culture and contrast it with a restrained and “stiff upper lip” culture. Will depression present differently in these cultures?
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 003: What to do when patient’s proxy has Limited English Proficiency
When caring for a vulnerable patient, we rely heavily on the proxy to guide us. However, if the proxy has communication difficulties it becomes exponentially difficult to make health decisions.
Watch the microlecture and try to solve the problem of how to provide patient-centered, family-oriented care when dealing with a patient who is a minor and unable to speak for himself and his proxy who has Limited English Proficiency.
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 004: Talk Directly To The Patient
This microlecture addresses patient rights. If the patient has Limited English Proficiency., don’t they still have the right to access all the information about their healthcare? Don’t they still have the right to take advantage of the therapeutic bond that should exist between every doctor and the patient? How can we decrease the psychological distance between the clinician and the patient? What are some simple steps we can take?
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 005: No Censoring Rule
What should the medical interpreter do during the clinical encounter? Should they pick and choose in terms of what information they translate and what they withhold? Should they omit certain aspects of what the clinician says?
What should the interpreter do if one clinician disagrees with another during the clinical encounter? Should they interpret arguments so the patient can understand opposing points of view?
Find out by watching the microlecture VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 006: The Interpreter as an Asset
Medical interpreters (MI) report feeling like intruders in some clinical encounters. I have talked to numerous MIs and they are a bit baffled by how some clinicians try to talk in English to patients who do not speak English!
Busy clinicians are often wary of anything that might increase the encounter time with patients. That being said, how can we effectively convey complex information like hospital discharge instructions to patients who do not speak English?
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 007: The Low Register Rule
What is “register”?
Take a guess! Do doctors speak in low register or high register?
Should the medical interpreter alter the register during translation to make sure the patient understands? Or, should they pause and ask the doctor to restate the information?
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
Microlecture 008: Consecutive Interpretation Rule
Do you know that there are different styles of interpretation? What is simultaneous interpretation? What is consecutive interpretation? Which one is better in a clinical encounter? What are the tradeoffs? Which is the preferred method in a clinical encounter when you are pressed for time?
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. Tweet to us: @palliator
