Laurie Swabey and Karen Malcolm have edited a volume which significantly expands the resources for our field in educating interpreters for healthcare settings. The volume, In Our Hands: Educating Healthcare Interpreters, was published in 2012 by Gallaudet University Press and is the fifth volume in the Interpreter Education Series.
Here is the description from the back of the book:
Deaf Americans have identified healthcare as the most difficult setting in which to obtain a qualified interpreter. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to developing evidence-based resources and a standardized body of knowledge to educate healthcare interpreters. In Our Hands: Educating Healthcare Interpreters addresses these concerns by delineating the best practices for preparing interpreters to facilitate full access for deaf people in healthcare settings.
The first section of this volume begins with developing domains and competencies toward a teaching methodology for medical and mental health interpreters. The next chapter describes a discourse approach that relies on analyzing actual transcripts and recordings to train healthcare interpreters. Other chapters feature a model mental health interpreter training program in Alabama; using a Demand-Control Schema for experiential learning; the risk of vicarious trauma to interpreters; online educational opportunities; and interpreting for deaf health care professionals. The second section offers four perspectives on education, including healthcare literacy of the clients; the education of Deaf interpreters; the development of standards for spoken-language healthcare interpreters; and the perspectives of healthcare interpreter educators in Europe. The range and depth of In Our Hands takes significant strides in presenting educational opportunities that can enhance the critical services provided by healthcare interpreters to deaf clients.
Here's a listing of the contents:
- "Domains and Competencies for Healthcare Interpreting: Applications and Implications for Educators" by Laurie Swabey and Quincy Craft Faber
- "'What Happens Truly, Not Textbook!': Using Authentic Interactions in Discourse Training for Healthcare Interpreters" by George Major, Jemina Napier, and Maria Stubbe
- "Mental Health Interpreting: Training, Standards, and Certification" by Charlene Crump
- "Beyond 'Interesting': Using Demand Control Schema to Structure Experiential Learning" by Robyn K. Dean and Robert Q. Pollard
- "An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure: Educating Interpreters about the Risk of Vicarious Trauma in Healthcare Settings" by Karen Bontempo and Karen Malcolm
- "Just What the Doctor Ordered? Online Possibilities for Healthcare Interpreting Education" by Doug Bowen-Bailey
- "Educating Interpreters as Medical Specialists with Deaf Health Professionals" by Christopher Moreland and Todd Agan
- "Health Literacy and Deafness: Implications for Interpreter Education" by Teri Hedding and Gary Kaufman
- "Deaf Interpreters and Mental Health Settings: Some Reflections on and Thoughts about Deaf Interpreter Education" by Pamela Morgan and Robert Adam
- "Professionalizing Healthcare Interpreting between Spoken Languages: Contributions of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care" by Bruce Downing and Karen Ruschke
- "Educating Sign Language Interpreters in Healthcare Settings: A European Perspective" by Maya De Wit, Marinella Salami, and Zane Hema
The book is available from Gallaudet University Press in both a print version and as an e-book. For more information, click here.
