Code of Professional Conduct for Medical Interpreters

Agency:		Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association
Address:		New England Medical Center, 750 Washington St, NEMC Box 271, Boston, MA 02111
Fax:		617-636-1845

A medical interpreter is the communication facilitator between a patient and a health care provider who do not speak the same language. As such he/she plays a vital role in the quality of the medical interview. The fulfillment of this role requires an understanding by the interpreter of the complexities of the task to be performed and the fundamental ethical principles and MMIA standards of practice. This code of ethics was derived from the MMIA Standards of Practice Ethical Behavior segment. This is an outline format that exemplifies the duties and responsibilities of the professional medical interpreter.

1. The medical interpreter will maintain confidentiality.

a) The interpreter understands the boundaries and the meaning of confidentiality, its implications and consequences.

b) The interpreter maintains the clinical parameters of information sharing, in keeping with the policies and procedures of the institution and/or team e.g.

supervision

patient conferences/continuity of care meetings

professional meetings, workshops, conferences (e.g. hospital, names, date of encounter, etc.) that can be attached to a specific individual. In other words, the interpreter is responsible for maintaining the anonymity of the parties involved in the situation

c) The interpreter knows how to respond to questions dealing with confidential matters that may be brought up in the community or health care setting.

d) In cases where the interpreter becomes privy to information regarding suicidal/homicidal intent, child abuse, or domestic violence, acts on their obligation to transmit such information, in keeping with institutional policies, interpreter standards of practice, and the law.

2. The medical interpreter will interpret accurately and completely.

a) The interpreter can explain the concepts of accuracy and completeness, their implications and consequences.

b) The interpreter is committed to accurately and completely transmitting the content and spirit of the original message into the other language, without omitting, modifying, condensing, or adding.

c) The interpreter is committed to monitoring their own interpreting performance.

d) The interpreter has the moral fortitude to admit and correct their own mistakes.

3. The medical interpreter will maintain impartiality.

a) The interpreter is aware of and able to identify personal biases and beliefs that may interfere with their ability to be impartial. The interpreter has the moral fortitude to withdraw if they cannot be impartial.

b) The interpreter withdraws or refrains from accepting any assignment where close personal or professional beliefs may affect impartiality (including conflict of interests) unless an emergency renders the service necessary.

c) The interpreter focuses on the communication between provider and patient and refrains from interjecting personal issues, beliefs, opinions, biases into the interview, motivated by a commitment to impartiality.

d) Refrains from counseling or advising.

4. The medical interpreter will respect the patient's privacy.

a) The interpreter respects patient's physical privacy and maintains spatial/visual privacy of patient, as necessary.

b) The interpreter respects patient's "personal/emotional" privacy.

• the interpreter refrains from asking personal, probing questions outside the scope of interpreting tasks
• does not use their role as interpreter to influence their social relationship with the patient outside the interpreting encounter
• refrains from getting personally involved in the lives of the patients

5. The medical interpreter will maintain a professional distance.

a) The interpreter can explain the meaning of professional distance, its implications and consequences.

b) The interpreter is able to balance empathy with the boundaries of the interpreter role.

c) The interpreter shows care and concern for patient needs by facilitating the use of appropriate resources.

d) The interpreter refrains from getting personally involved, thereby fully supporting the provider-patient relationship.

e) The interpreter does not create expectations in either party that the interpreter cannot fulfill in their role.

f) The interpreter promotes patient self-sufficiency, taking into account the social context of the patient.

g) The interpreter monitors their own personal agenda and needs; is aware of transference and counter-transference issues.

6. The medical interpreter will maintain professional integrity.

a) The interpreter refrains from contact with patient outside the scope of employment, avoiding personal benefit.

b) The interpreter refrains from fulfilling any functions or services that are not part of the interpreter role.

c) The interpreter knows the limits of their competencies and refrains from interpreting beyond their training, level of experience, and skills, unless their limitations are fully understood by the patient and provider and no other source of interpreting is available.

d) The interpreter refrains from interpreting in situations where there may be a conflict of interest.

e) The interpreter engages in ongoing professional development.

7. The medical interpreter will deal with discrimination.

a) On occasions where the interpreter feels strongly that either party's behaviors is affecting access or quality of service, or compromising any party's dignity, the interpreter uses effective strategies to address the situation.

b) If the problem persists, the interpreter knows and uses institutional policies and procedures relevant to discrimination.

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