Teaching and assessing family medicine clerks' use of medical interpreters
Shriner, C.J.; Hickey, D.P.
Family Medicine 40(5): 313-315
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0742-3225 PMID: 18465276 Document Number: 617788
Academic health centers must develop strategies to prepare health care providers to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. We designed a curriculum module, including didactic presentation and a standardized patient experience, to teach and evaluate the knowledge and skills necessary for third-year family medicine clerks to effectively communicate with non-English-speaking patients when using interpreters in clinical settings. Analyses indicated improvement both in students' knowledge and skills following participation in the curriculum module. The instructional intervention was successful in improving students' effective use of interpreters in a simulated clinical setting.