The Third National Conference on
Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations:
Advancing Effective Health Care through Systems Development, Data, and Measurement

October 2 - 4, 2002, Chicago, IL
Westin Chicago River North Hotel

Session B-2: National Council on Interpretation in Health Care forum series: listening to your voice about a national code of ethics

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care is a multidisciplinary organization whose mission is to promote culturally competent professional health care interpreting as a means to support equal access to health services for individuals with limited English proficiency.

As patient populations become increasingly linguistically diverse in more locations in the United States, the need for qualified health care interpreters has grown accordingly. Great strides have been made in instituting language access programs, implementing training programs and building agreement on the role and limitations of health care interpreters. In some areas, this work has moved more quickly than in others, leaving the country with an uneven level of expectations, training and certification for interpreters. Codes of Ethics, the foundation for any profession, abound.

Through widespread national networks, the National Council will build consensus for a single Code of Ethics for health care interpreters. In building consensus, the Council will reach out to individual interpreters, interpreter associations, interpreter agencies, language access programs, and professionals in related fields.

This workshop is the first step in helping the country take the next step toward guaranteeing quality interpreter services. A draft Code of Ethics will be presented and participants will be asked for their input into the Code.

Cindy Roat is a consultant and trainer on issues related to language access in health care. She has been a trainer for over twenty years, starting her career by working for a decade in rural development programs in Latin America, after which she earned a Masters degree in International Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle. Certified by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services for both medical and social service interpreting, she has been a medical interpreter since 1992. She has made significant contributions in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach. Cindy is the principle author of Bridging the Gap, currently the most widely offered training for medical interpreters in the United States. She is a founding member of the Society of Medical Interpreters (SOMI) in Seattle and Co-chair of the Board of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) and is known nationally as an energetic advocate for the field of health care interpreting and for interpreters in general.

Bruce T. Downing is Associate Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Program in Translation and Interpreting in the College of Continuing Education at the University of Minnesota. He is co-author of the monograph Professional Training for Community Interpreters (1991) and has published articles on linguistics, translation, and interpreting. Dr. Downing is a member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care’s Committee on Standards, Training, and Certification. He is also a member of the Interpreter Policy Advisory Committee of the American Translators Association (ATA) and served (1999-2001) as the ATA representative to the ASTM Subcommittee on Interpreter Standards.

Karin Ruschke has dedicated her career to bridging language and cultural differences in the health care setting. As founder and president of International Language Services, Karin directs the expansion of interpretation services within the Chicago health care provider community. She also provides, to a variety of clients such as health care facilities, governmental agencies and community organizations, consultation on how to effectively set-up and implement language interpretation services. She has developed and delivered comprehensive programs to train bilingual staff to facilitate communication between patients and medical providers. Addressing the rigorous standards of accuracy, confidentiality, role and cultural-sensitivity, these programs have improved the effectiveness and professionalism of in-house interpretation. She also trains providers in how to work effectively with interpreters.

Ms. Ruschke is actively involved in all aspects of developing the medical interpreting industry. Karin has played an integral role in raising the awareness of standards for medical interpreters. She headed the Sub-Committee on Language Interpreting in the Medical Setting under the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). This committee developed a user guide which outlines guidelines for providers in need of interpretation services. She also currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Training, Standards and Certification Committee of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), and is co-author of the Guide to Initial Assessment of Interpreter Qualifications. The committee’s mission is to draft standards, recommendations, and informational materials concerning the interpreter role and performance as well as interpreter services and programs of interpreter education and assessment.

Ms. Ruschke received her MA from the School of Translation at the Monterey Institute in California.

Karin Ruschke
President
International Language Services
2632 North Halsted
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: 773-975-3992
Fax: 773-975-3993
E-mail: ils-inc@mindspring.com

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