This resource for Outreach Programs provides ideas and resources for how to do outreach in an anti-immigrant climate by addressing specific barriers, providing strategies, and listing resources.It is provided by Health Outreach Partners in collaboration with Quincy Community Health Center, Lorena Sprager and Associates, Migrant Legal Action Program, and attendees from the 2011 and 2012 Western Migrant Stream Forums (WMSF).

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE:

To compare interpreter errors and their potential consequences in encounters with professional versus ad hoc versus no interpreters.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional error analysis of audiotaped emergency department (ED) visits during 30 months in the 2 largest pediatric EDs in Massachusetts. Participants were Spanish-speaking limited-English-proficient patients, caregivers, and their interpreters. Outcome measures included interpreter error numbers, types, and potential consequences.

RESULTS:

The 57 encounters included 20 with professional interpreters, 27 with ad hoc interpreters, and 10 with no interpreters; 1,884 interpreter errors were noted, and 18% had potential clinical consequences. The proportion of errors of potential consequence was significantly lower for professional (12%) versus ad hoc (22%) versus no interpreters (20%). Among professional interpreters, previous hours of interpreter training, but not years of experience, were significantly associated with error numbers, types, and potential consequences. The median errors by professional interpreters with greater than or equal to 100 hours of training was significantly lower, at 12, versus 33 for those with fewer than 100 hours of training. Those with greater than or equal to 100 hours of training committed significantly lower proportions of errors of potential consequence overall (2% versus 12%) and in every error category.

CONCLUSION:

Professional interpreters result in a significantly lower likelihood of errors of potential consequence than ad hoc and no interpreters. Among professional interpreters, hours of previous training, but not years of experience, are associated with error numbers, types, and consequences. These findings suggest that requiring at least 100 hours of training for interpreters might have a major impact on reducing interpreter errors and their consequences in health care while improving quality and patient safety.

Copyright © 2012. Published by Mosby, Inc.

 OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL BOARDThe mission of the National Board is to foster improved healthcare outcomes, patient safety and patient/provider communication, by elevating the standards for and quality of medical interpreting through a nationally recognized and accredited certification for medical interpreters.The CMI certification program is governed by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (National Board), an independent division of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA). The purposes of the National Board are to:·         Develop, organize, oversee and promote a national medical interpreter certification program in all languages.·         Promote patients and providers working with credentialed medical interpreters who have met minimal national standards to provide accurate and safe interpretation.·         Ensure credibility of national certification by striving to comply with national accreditation standards including transparency, inclusion, and access. The Board of Directors of the National Board consists of 12 voting members that include medical interpreters, a health care provider, industry representatives, and a public member. Initial Board members were selected by a public process and independent selection committee. Subsequently, Board members are recruited through a Nominating Committee process and are elected by the members of the National Board. To see the National Board click here. 

This blog post from the North Carolina Medical Board discusses issues around physician burnout. The blog states: "Burnout among physicians has reached epidemic proportions since it was first described among human services workers in the 1970s. When physicians experience overload, loss of control (autonomy) and a lack of reward (perceived or real) for their contributions, their risk for emotional exhaustion, otherwise known as the burnout syndrome, is astronomical. When physicians begin the downward spiral into burnout, they no longer contribute with their leadership and motivational energy. Instead, they become needy and unintentionally sap energy away from the group. Worse, this syndrome is highly contagious and can systematically infect a whole practice or clinic by reducing meaningful contact among its individual members."

The Journal of Clinical Ethics. The Diagnosis of Dying by George F. Davis. Fall 2009. Volume 20, Number 3

¡Cuídate! is an educational resource on the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries at work. This comic is in Spanish, English and Haitian Creole.