Life science & interpreting students: an interdisciplinary healthcare role-playing activity

Abstract

Objective – Communication is essential to patient care. When serving Deaf patients, medical professionals who work with interpreters provide greater access to healthcare and wellness. Both the medical professional and the interpreter need training to develop the confidence and skills that support successful communication. This study aimed to introduce both Life Sciences and American Sign Language/English Interpreting undergraduate students to the experience of working together via role-play activities designed to promote effective communication with Deaf patients. Students from an Interpreting in the Healthcare Setting course were combined with students from an Endocrinology course to take part in this interdisciplinary assignment. Method – A group of three students per clinic completed each of the role play activities which were designed to simulate common interactions with medical professionals. The Life Science students enacted the role of the medical professional while one of the Interpreting students enacted the role of interpreter and the second enacted the role of a Deaf patient. Separate classrooms were designated as clinics where the role play was enacted. Clinics were designated as primary care intake, emergency department admissions, diabetes clinic and cardiac clinic. A mixed method approach was used to design both qualitative and quantitative questions on pre and post surveys distributed to 18 participants. The qualitative data was analyzed via collaborative review and categorized by theme. Quantitative Likert scale data was collected and analyzed to measure student preparedness, confidence and effectiveness of the activities. Results – The level of preparedness varied with each student and clinic type. All student participants from both courses reported increased confidence and ability when working with each other and with future Deaf patients. Conclusion – The study sought to create an authentic learning experience for undergraduate students who aspired to work in healthcare either as medical professionals or interpreters. By beginning such education earlier in students’ academic careers should result in more robust access to healthcare for Deaf patients. The model we created and evaluated can be used at all levels from community college through professional school to train Life Science students interested in health professions to provide equitable access to healthcare. For Interpreting students, the healthcare setting has a shortage of trained interpreters, and this model can provide them with the needed experience prior to working as interpreters in the healthcare setting. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.